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PRINCETON    .   NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 


REV.  E.^.  FERGUSSON 


BS1140.3  .F47  1906 

Fergusson,  E.  Morris  (Edmund 

Morris),  1864-1934. 

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INTERMEDIATE 


Grade  Lessons 


FOR  THE 


Sunday  School 


BY  THE 

Rev.  e.  Morris  Fergusson 


FIRST  YEAR 


Part  I.     The  Old  Testament 

Part  II.    Old  Testament  History,  Creation  to  David 

Part  III.  Old  Testament  History,  Solomon  to  Hezekiah 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE  WESTMINSTER  PRESS 

1906 


CONTENTS 


PART   I 
The   Old   Testament 

L«sson  Page 

I.  The  Ancient  World g 

II.  The  Ancient   Empires 1 1 

III.  Makers  of   Old   Testament   History 12 

IV.  Divisions  of  the  Old  Testament 13 

V.  The  Pentateuch 14 

VI.  The  Books  of  History 15 

VII.  The  Books  of  History   (Continued) 16 

VIII.  The  Books  of  History  (Concluded) 17 

IX.  Poetry  and  Wisdom. 18 

X.  The  Prophets 19 

XL       The   Prophets    (Continued) 20 

XII.  The  Prophets    (Concluded) 21 

XIII.  Review  22 

PART   II 
Old  Testament  History,  Creation  to  David 

Lesson  Page 

I.  The  Beginnings  of  History 27 

II.  Abraham,  the  Friend  of  God 28 

III.  The  Family  of  Jacob 30 

IV.  Israel  in  Egypt 31 

V.  Moses  , 32 

VI.  Israel  in  the  Wilderness 34 

5 


6  CONTENTS 

Lesson  Page 

VII.  The  Settlement  in  Canaan 35 

VIII.  The  Tribes  in  Canaan 2>1 

IX.  The  Times  of  the  Judges 38 

X.  Samuel 40 

XL      David  42 

XII.  David's  Empire 44 

XIII.  Review  45 


PART    III 

Old  Testament  History,  Solomon  to  Hezekiah 

Lesson  Page 

I.  Solomon's  Glory 49 

II.  David's    Line 50 

III.  The  Kingdom  of  Israel 52 

IV.  Elijah 53 

V.  Elisha  54 

VI.  Jehu's  Revolution 56 

VII.  From  Joash   to  Hezekiah 57 

VIII.  The  Age  of  Uzziah 59 

IX.  The  Assyrian  Power 60 

X.  The  Early  Prophets 62 

XL      The  Early  Prophets    (Concluded) ^z 

XII.  Hezekiah 64 

XIII.  Review  66 


PART  I 
THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


®Ii^  WUi  (StBttLvx^nt 


LESSON  I 

The  Ancient  World 

The  Old  Testament  tells  the  story  of  the  Hebrew  people,  and  how 
Jehovah  their  God  took  care  of  them  and  prepared  them  for  the 
coming  of  the  Messiah,  Jesus  the  Christ.  This  story  runs  for  about 
fifteen  hundred  years,  from  the  call  of  Abraham  to  the  prophecy  of 
Malachi,  about  four  hundred  years  before  Christ. 

The  scene  of  this  story  lies  in  that  part  of  the  world  now  called 
Turkey  in  Asia.  Find  it  on  your  school  map.  It  is  a  dry,  hot 
country,  and  the  greater  part  of  it  has  always  been  a  desert.     Near 

the  corners  of  our  map  we 
notice  four  seas,  the  Caspian 
Sea  on  the  northeast,  the  Per- 
sian Gulf  on  the  southeast, 
the  Red  Sea  with  its  two  gulfs 
on  the  southwest,  and  to  the 
westward  the  eastern  end  of 
the  Mediterranean,  or  Great 
Sea. 

As  the  country  is  largely 
desert,  the  life  of  the  people 
has  always  centered  more  or 
less  about  the  rivers.  Our  map  shows  four  rivers.  The  river  to 
the  eastward  is  the  Ti'g-ris;  the  larger  one,  into  which  the  Tigris 
empties,  is  the  Eu-phra'tes;  and  the  river  with  several  mouths, 
flowing  north  and  emptying  into  the  Mediterranean,  is  the  Nile. 
The  little  river  near  the  Mediterranean  coast,  emptying  into  that 
tiny  lake,  is  the  Jordan.  That  lake,  by  the  way,  is  forty-seven 
miles  long. 

[Note. — Of  course  the  graduates  of  the  Junior  Department  know 
these  things ;  but  they  are  put  here  to  help  those  that  have  not  studied 
Bible  geography  before.] 
Four  countries  must  also  be  located.     On  the  lower  Euphrates, 

9 


THE    ANCIENT    WORLD 


10  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

from  the  Persian  Gulf  up,  was  the  land  of  Chal-dse'a  or  Bab-y- 
lo'ni-a.  North  of  Babylonia,  on  the  Upper  Tigris,  was  the  country 
of  As-syr'-i-a.  West  of  the  Red  Sea,  along  the  Nile  to  the  southward, 
stretched  the  land  of  E'gypt.  And  between  the  Great  Sea  and  the 
Jordan,  extending  east  of  the  river  a  few  miles,  was  the  land  of 
Ca'naan,  called  in  later  times  Palestine,  the  Holy  Land,  the  land  of 
Israel.  It  was  guarded  on  the  north  by  mountains,  on  the  east  and 
south  by  great  deserts,  and  on  the  west  by  the  sea.  God  chose  this 
little  land  to  be  the  home  of  his  people. 
Learn 

I.     TWELVE  FEATURES  OF  THE  ANCIENT?  WORLD 

Four  Seas,  C.  S.,  P.  G.,  R.  S.,  M.  S. 

Four  Rivers,  T.,  K,  N.,  J. 

Four  Countries,  C.  or  B.,  A.,  E.,  C. 

1  What  story  does  the  Old  Testament  tell  ? 

2  Where  does  this  story  begin,  and  where  does  it  end  ? 

3  On  your  school  map,  draw  lightly  four  lines,  inclosing  the  surface 
given  in  the  map  herewith. 

4  What  countries  and  continents  lie  beyond  the  edges  of  this  map? 

5  Around  which  would  you  sail  in  going  from  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the 
upper  end  of  the  Red  Sea?     From  thence  to  the  coast  of  Canaan? 

6  What  is  the  general  character  of  the  country  shown  on  the  map  ? 

7  Name  and  locate  the  four  seas. 

8  Name  and  trace  the  four  rivers.     What  more  do  you  know  about 
these?  ,jj 

9  Name  and  locate  the  four  countries. 
ID  Other  names  for  Canaan? 

11  How  was  the  situation  of  Canaan  peculiar? 

12  Which  were  the  twelve  features  of  the  ancient  world? 

Notebook  Work. — Have  a  notebook  especially  for  these  lessons.  Any 
good  blank  book  will  do  ;  but  a  square  book,  small  quarto  size,  with  stiff 
sides,  will  be  found  most  convenient.  Make  the  title  page  with  care : 
examine  printed  books  to  see  how  the  lines  are  arranged.  Your  name 
should  go  in  as  author  of  the  book,  of  course  ;  and  your  Sunday-school's 
name  may  go  in  at  the  bottom,  where  the  publisher's  name  is  generally 
placed.  For  a  frontispiece,  facing  the  title  page,  draw  Map  i,  enlarging 
the  scale  with  the  help  of  the  cross-lines.  Any  school  teacher  can  show 
you  how  to  do  this.  For  each  lesson,  write  the  things  you  learn.  The 
answers  to  all  the  questions  should  be  written  out ;  but  it  is  better  to 


THE    OLD    TESTAMENT  II 


answer  them  not  one  by  one,  but  in  the  form  of  a  connected  story,  or 
a  statement  of  things  learned.  If  this  makes  more  work  than  you  have 
time  for,  do  what  the  teacher  assigns.  Pictures  appropriate  for  illustra- 
tion may  be  pasted  in  wherever  they  will  help. 


LESSON  II 

The  Ancient  Empires 

As  we  study  Hebrew  and  Jewish  history,  we  learn  much  of  the 
empires  that  rose,  one  after  another,  each  seeking  to  conquer  and 
rule  the  lands  of  the  ancient  world.  Four  of  these  great  empires 
influenced  the  Hebrew  people  during  Bible  times. 

The  first  of  these  was  the  Egyptian  empire.  While  the  Hebrews 
were  in  Egypt,  growing  up  into  a  nation,  the  new  Pha'raoh  or  king 
of  Egypt,  Thoth'mes  HI.,  followed  by  his  son,  Ram'ses  II.,  made  great 
expeditions  all  over  the  Old  Testament  world,  extending  the  power 
of  Egypt.  It  was  this  Ramses  II.,  probably,  who  oppressed  the 
Israelites.  The  Pharaohs  did  not  keep  these  conquests  long;  but 
during  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  period,  Egypt  was  a  strong 
and  sometimes  a  conquering  kingdom.  It  was  also  rich,  highly 
civilized,  and  full  of  wonderful  temples  and  other  works  of  ancient 
times. 

The  second  was  the  Assyrian  empire.  The  Assyrians  dwelt  on 
the  banks  of  the  upper  Tigris  and  eastward  to  the  mountains  of 
Armenia.  Nineveh  was  their  capital.  Fierce  and  warlike,  their 
great  kings  loved  to  conquer,  plunder,  and  carry  away  captive ;  and 
few  cities  ever  held  out  against  the  Assyrian  soldiers.  Sen-nach'e-rib 
was  the  most  noteworthy  of  the  Assyrian  conquerors. 

The  third  was  the  Chaldsean  or  Babylonian  empire.  Its  country 
was  the  lower  Euphrates  Valley,  and  its  capital  was  the  great  city  of 
Babylon.  The  greatest  king  of  this  empire  was  Neb-u-chad-nez'zar, 
who  reigned  from  604  to  561  b.  c. 

The  fourth  was  the  Persian  empire,  founded  by  Cyrus,  who  con- 
quered Babylon  in  539  b.  c.  Persia  lay  east  of  the  Persian  Gulf. 
The  greatest  king  of  the  Persian  empire  was  Darius  I.,  521  to  486 
B.  c. 

After  these  came  other  empires,  in  the  time  between  the  Old  Tes- 
tament and  the  New.  In  New  Testament  times  the  Bible  world  was 
ruled  by  the  Roman  empire. 


INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


Learn 

II.     FOUR  ANCIENT  EMPIRES 


I.  The  Egyptian  empire. 
II.  The  Assyrian  empire. 

III.  The  Chaldaean  or  Babylonian  empire. 

IV.  The  Persian   empire. 


1  Why  should  we  learn  about  the  ancient  empires? 

2  What  empire  ruled  the  Hebrews  while  they  were  beginning  to  be 
a  nation  ? 

3  What  were  the  kings  of  this  empire  called? 

4  What  did  Thothmes  III.  and  Ramses  II.  do? 

5  Describe  the  country  of  Egypt. 

6  Where  did  the  Assyrians  live? 

7  What  were  they  like? 

8  What  was  the  third  empire? 

9  Who  was  its  greatest  king? 

10  Who  founded  the  Persian  empire?  when? 

11  Where  did  it  lie? 

12  In  New  Testament  times,  what  empire  had  taken  the  place  of 
these? 

13  Which  were  the  four  ancient  empires? 

LESSON  III 

Makers  of  Old  Testament  History 

The  Old  Testament  is  full  of  stories  about  great  men  and  women 
whom  God  raised  up  and  helped,  so  that  they  did  wonderful  things 
for  his  cause.  But  among  them  all  five  men  stand  out  worthy  to  be 
remembered  as  those  whose  lives  and  work  helped  to  shape  the 
history  of  God's  people.     Let  us,  therefore,  learn 

III.     FIVE   OLD    TESTAMENT   LEADERS 

I.  Abraham,  "the  friend  of  God,"  the  founder  of  the  Hebrew 
people,  who  in  very  early  times,  at  God's  call,  migrated  with  his 
family  or  tribe  and  their  possessions  from  Chaldaea  to  Canaan. 

II.  Moses,  the  great  leader  and  lawgiver,  who  delivered  the  Israel- 
ites from  bondage  in  Egypt,  led  them  in  their  wanderings  to  Canaan, 
and  taught  them  the  will  of  God  as  their  law. 


THE    OLD    TESTAiMENT  I3 


III.  David,  the  shepherd  king,  who  organized  the  tribes  of  Israel 
into  a  nation,  founded  the  kingdom,  made  Jerusalem  its  capital,  and 
subdued  all  the  surrounding  countries.  He  was  "a  man  after  God's 
own  heart," — a  faithful  follower  of  Jehovah  the  God  of  Israel, 
though  not  perfect  as  a  man. 

IV.  Elijah,  the  prophet  of  Jehovah,  who  faced  Ahab,  the  wicked 
king  of  Israel,  and  turned  back  the  people  from  following  Baal. 

V.  Nehemiah,  the  governor  of  Jerusalem  in  the  days  of  Arta- 
xerxes,  king  of  Persia.  He  rebuilt  the  ruined  walls  of  Jerusalem 
and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  later  Jewish  state,  rescuing  the 
city  both  from  its  enemies  on  the  outside  and  from  the  sins  and 
mistakes  of  its  inhabitants  within.  He,  too,  was  a  faithful  and 
devoted  follower  of  God. 

1  What  stories  are  found  in  the  Old  Testament? 

2  Why  are  the  five  men  of  this  lesson  especially  worth  remembering? 

3  What  is  Abraham  called  ? 

4  What  did  he  do  ?  when  ?  how  ? 

5  What  was  Moses? 

6  From  what  did  he  deliver  Israel? 

7  How  did  he  lead  and  teach  them? 

8  What  was  David? 

9  What  four  things  did  he  do  for  Israel  ? 

10  Describe  his  character. 

11  What  did  Elijah  do? 

12  What  did  Nehemiah  do? 

13  Who  were  the  five  Old  Testament  leaders? 

LESSON  IV 

Divisions  of  the  Old  Testament 

In  the  Junior  Department  the  pupils  learn  the  names  of  the  books 
of  the  Bible,  and  how  they  are  divided.  It  is  necessary  for  us  to  go 
over  the  same  ground  again,  because  we  have  learned  so  much 
more  about  the  Bible,  and  because  we  are  now  ready  to  look  more 
deeply .  into  the  meaning  of  each  book.  We  shall  need  to  make  a 
few  changes  in  the  grouping  of  books,  in  order  to  bring  together 
those   that  properly  belong  together. 

Write  from  memory  the  names  of  the  thirty-nine  books  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  then  learn 


14  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

IV.     SEVEN    DIVISIONS    OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT 

I.  Five  books  of  the  law,  which  are  sometimes  called  the  Penta- 
teuch, or  the  five  books  of  Moses. 

II.  Three  books  of  early  history,  telling  of  Israel  before  the 
days  of  the  kingdom. 

III.  Three  double  books  of  middle  history,  telling  of  Israel 
and  Judah  during  the  days  of  the  kingdom. 

IV.  Three  books  of  late  history,  telling  of  the  Jews  after  the 
days  of  the  kingdom. 

V.  Six  books  of  poetry  and  wisdom. 

VI.  Four  long  books  of  prophecy,  containing  sermons  of  the 
prophets  or  stories  of  their  work. 

VII.  Twelve  short  books  of  prophecy. 

1  Why  do  we  need  to  study  about  the  books  of  the  Bible  again? 

2  Write  the  names  of  the  first  seventeen  books,  in  four  columns, 
the  first  column  having  five  names,  the  second  three,  the  third  six,  and 
the  fourth  three. 

3  Put  a  heading  to  each  of  these  columns,  telling  what  this  set  of 
books  is. 

4  Put  a  description  below  each  column,  telling  something  else  about 
the  set  of  books. 

5  Write  the  next  five  names. 

6  Find,  among  the  Major  Prophets,  Isaiah  to  Daniel,  one  book 
with  a  title  that  is  not  the  name  of  a  man,  and  put  it  with  the  books 
of  poetry  and  wisdom. 

7  Now  make  up  your  last  three  columns,  and  put  headings  and  de- 
scriptions to  them  as  you  did  before. 

8  Give  the  seven  divisions  of  the  Old  Testament. 

LESSON  V 

The    Pentateuch 

Studying  separately  the  five  books  of  Moses,  we  may  learn  cer- 
tain things  about 

V.     FIVE    BOOKS    OF    THE    LAW 

I.  Genesis,  the  book  of  beginnings.  The  first  eleven  chapters  tell 
about  the  beginning  of  the  world.     The  other  thirty-nine  chapters 


THE    OLD    TESTAMENT  ^5 


tell  about  the  beginning  of  the  Israelites.    Principal  character,  Abra- 
ham, the  friend  of  God. 

II.  Exodus,  the  book  of  the  going  out.  The  first  twenty-four 
chapters  tell  how  the  Israelites  went  out  from  Egypt  to  Mount 
Sinai.  The  last  sixteen  chapters  tell  how  they  made  the  tabernacle. 
Principal  character,   Moses,  the  deliverer. 

III.  I/eviticus,  the  laws  of  the  priests  and  Levites.  It  tells  how 
the  priests  were  to  help  the  people  to  worship  God.  Principal  char- 
acter,  Aaron,  the  high  priest. 

IV.  Numbers,  the  wilderness  book.  It  tells  about  the  life  of  the 
Israelites  in  the  wilderness  during  their  journey  between  Mount 
Sinai  and  Canaan.     Principal  character,  Caleb,  the  faithful  spy. 

V.  Deuteronomy,  the  book  of  the  Second  Law.  It  gives  what 
Moses  said  to  the  people  just  before  they  entered  the  land  of  Canaan. 
Principal  character,  Moses,  the  lawgiver. 

Find,  in  your  Bible,  the  first  words  of  each  book,  number  of  chap- 
ters, and  a  verse  about  the  principal  character.  In  Deuteronomy, 
pick  out  a  passage  of  five  or  six  verses  that  shows  Moses  as  a  great 
orator. 

1  What  is  Genesis  ? 

2  How  is  the  book  divided? 

3  Who  is  the  principal  character? 

4  What  is  Exodus?  how  divided?     Principal  character? 

5  What  is  Leviticus?     Of  what  does  it  tell?     Principal  character? 

6  What  is  Numbers?     Of  what  does  it  tell?     Principal  character? 

7  What  is  Deuteronomy?     What  does  it  give?     Principal  character? 

LESSON  VI 

The  Books  of  History 

The  twelve  books  of  history  which  follow  the  books  of  the  law 
are  divided,  as  we  have  learned,  into  three  books  of  early  history, 
three  double  books  of  middle  histor3%  and  three  books  of  late  his- 
tory.    We  must  therefore  learn 

VI.     THREE    BOOKS    OF    EARLY    HISTORY 

I.  Joshua,  the  book  of  the  conquest  of  Canaan.    It  tells  how  the 


l6  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

Israelites  entered  Canaan  and  conquered  its  inhabitants.     Principal 
character,  Joshua,   the  general. 

II.  Judg-es,  the  book  of  war  stories.  It  tells  how  the  Israelites 
were  governed  by  judges  before  they  had  a  king.  Principal  char- 
acter, Gideon,  the  deliverer. 

III.  Buth,  the  story  of  peace.  It  tells  about  Ruth,  the  ancestress 
of  David.     Principal  character,  Ruth,  the  faithful  daughter-in-law. 

1  What  is  Joshua? 

2  Of  what  does  it  tell  ? 

3  Principal  character? 

4  What  is  Judges? 

5  Of  what  does  it  tell? 

6  Principal  character? 

7  What  is  Ruth? 

8  Of  whom  does  it  tell  ? 

9  Principal  character? 

10  Which  of  these  three  books  do  you  like  best?  why? 

Mid-quarter  Review. — Take  the  occasion  of  this  short  lesson  to 
review  the  lessons  learned  so  far,  and  to  bring  up  your  notebook  work  if 
it  is  incomplete. 


LESSON  VII 
The  Books  of  History,  continued 

The  books  of  early  history  prepare  us  for  the  long  story  of  the 
kingdom, — first  the  kingdom  of  all  Israel  and  then  the  separate 
kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah.     We  must  now  learn 

VII.     THREE   DOUBLE   BOOKS   OF   MIDDLE   HISTORY 

I.  Samuel,  the  starting  of  the  kingdom. 

First  Samuel,  chapters  i  to  12,  tells  about  Samuel,  the  last  judge. 
The  other  nineteen  chapters  of  First  Samuel  tell  about  Saul,  the 
first  king.  Second  Samuel  tells  about  King  David.  Principal  char- 
acters,  these  three  men. 

II.  Kings,   the  course  of  the  kingdom. 

First  Kings,  first  half,  tells  about  King  Solomon;  and  he  is  the 
principal  character.  First  Kings,  second  half,  tells  about  the  king- 


THE    OLD    TESTAMENT  I7 


doms  of  Judah  and  Israel;  principal  character,  Elijah.  Second 
Kings,  first  seventeen  chapters,  tells  about  Judah  and  Israel  until 
the  fall  of  Samaria ;  principal  character,  Elisha.  Second  Kings, 
last  eight  chapters,  tells  about  the  kingdom  of  Judah  until  the  fall 
of  Jerusalem ;  principal  character,  Josiah. 

III.  Chronicles,  the  review  of  the  kingdom. 

First  Chronicles  reviews  the  history  until  the  death  of  King  David ; 
principal  character,  David.  Second  Chronicles  reviews  the  history 
from  the  reign  of  King  Solomon  until  the  fall  of  Jerusalem;  prin- 
cipal character,  Hezekiah. 

1  What  do  the  two  books  of  Samuel  give? 

2  How  is  First  Samuel  divided? 

3  Of  what  does  the  first  part  tell?  the  second  part? 

4  Of  whom  does  Second  Samuel  tell  ? 

5  Name  the  three  principal  characters  of  these  books. 

6  What  do  the  books  of  Kings  give? 

7  How  is  First  Kings  divided?     Principal  character  of  the  first  half? 
How  many  chapters  in  it  ? 

8  Of   what    does   the    second    half    of    First    Kings    tell?     Principal 
character? 

9  Into  what  two  parts  is  Second  Kings  divided? 

10  Of  what  does  the  first  part  tell?     Principal  character? 

11  Of  what  does  the  second  part  tell?     Principal  character? 

12  What  do  the  books  of  Chronicles  give? 

13  What  does  First  Chronicles  review?     Principal  character? 

14  What  does  Second  Chronicles  review?     Principal  character? 
(Some   of  these   questions   may   be   postponed  until   next   lesson.) 


LESSON  VIII 

The  Books  of  History,  concluded 

The  middle  history  of  the  Hebrews,  or  the  history  of  the  king- 
dom, ends  with  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  587  b.  c,  and  the  final  car- 
rying away  of  the  Jews  by  Nebuchadnezzar  to  Babylon.  After  the 
books  which  tell  of  the  kingdom  we  have 

VIII.     THREE     BOOKS     OF    LATE    HISTORY 

I.  Ezra,  the  book  of  the  return.     It  tells  how  some  of  the  Jews 


l8  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


returned  from   the  captivit}^,    rebuilt  the   temple   in  Jerusalem,   and 
renewed  the  law.     Principal  character,  Ezra,  the  scribe. 

II.  Nehemiah,  the  book  of  the  revival.  It  tells  how  Nehemiah 
rebuilt  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  and  reformed  the  people.  Principal 
character,  Nehemiah,  the  governor. 

III.  Esther,  the  book  of  God's  providence.  It  tells  about  the  Jews 
who  did  not  return  from  the  captivity,  and  how  Esther  saved  them 
from  destruction.     Principal  character,  Esther,  the  brave  queen. 

Be  sure  to  find  and  write  those  three  things  about  each  book. 
Review  and  complete  the  work  of  last  lesson. 

1  With  what  event  does  the  middle  history  of  the  Hebrews  end? 

2  What  is  Ezra? 

3  Of  what  does  it  tell?     Principal  character? 

4  What  is  Nehemiah? 

5  Of  what  does  it  tell? 

6  Principal  character? 

7  What  is  Esther? 

8  Of  what  does  it  tell? 

9  Principal  character? 

LESSON  IX 

Poetry  and  Wisdom 

The  Bible,  especially  the  Old  Testament,  contains  a  great  deal  of 
poetry,  some  of  it  very  beautiful,  and  some  very  instructive.  It 
does  not  rhyme  like  ours,  and  the  lines  are  not  alike  in  length.  In 
our  Common  Version  none  of  it  is  printed  as  poetry;  but  in  the 
American  Revision  most  of  the  poetry  is  printed  in  lines,  and  so 
is  easier  to  distinguish  from  prose. 

Learn 

IX.     SIX   BOOKS    OF    POETRY 

I.  Job,  the  book  about  God.  It  tells  what  Job  and  his  friends 
said  about  God,  and  how  God  answered  them. 

II,  Psalms,  the  Jewish  hymn  book.  It  contains  the  hymns  that 
the  Jews  used  to  sing  in  the  temple.  There  are  one  hundred  and 
fifty  psalms,  arranged  in  five  books. 


THE    OLD    TESTAMENT  IQ 


III.  Proverbs,  the  wisdom  book.  It  contains  the  wise  things  that 
King  Solomon  and  others  used  to  say. 

IV.  Ecclesiastes,  the  book  about  man.  It  tells  how  King  Solo- 
mon found  that  it  does  not  make  a  man  happy  to  be  rich. 

V.  The  Song  of  Solomon,  the  love  book.  It  tells  about  a  beau- 
tiful maiden  whom  King  Solomon  loved,  and  teaches  the  power  of 
true  love. 

VI.  Lamentations,  the  sorrow  book.  It  tells  how  the  Jews  felt 
after  they  were  carried  away  captive  from  Jerusalem.  It  comes  in 
at  the  end  of  the  Book  of  Jeremiah. 

Instead  of  looking  for  characters  in  these  books,  look  for  the 
most  beautiful  and  helpful  passage  in  each,  and  write  where  it  is 
to  be  found. 

1  How  is  Bible  poetry  different  from  ours? 

2  What  is  Job?     Of  what  does  it  tell? 

3  What  is  Psalms? 

4  What  does  it  contain?  how  many? 

5  What  is  Proverbs  ? 

6  What  does  it  contain  ? 

7  What  is  Ecclesiastes? 

8  Of  what  does  it  tell? 

9  What  is  the  Song  of  Solomon? 

10  What  does  it  teach? 

11  What  is  Lamentations?     Of  what  does  it  tell? 

12  Where  is  the  book  of  Lamentations  found? 


LESSON  X 

The  Prophets 

After  the  books  of  poetry  come  the  books  of  prophecy.  These 
were  written  by  prophets,  preachers  who  revealed  to  the  people 
the  word  of  Jehovah.  Sometimes  the  prophets  denounced  the  people 
for  their  sins ;  sometimes  they  preached  against  foreign  nations ; 
sometimes  they  warned  the  sinners  of  coming  trouble,  and  urged 
them  to  repent ;  and  sometimes  they  spoke  words  of  mercy  and 
comfort. 

There  are  sixteen  books  of  prophecy,  four  long  and  twelve  short. 


INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


The  long  books  are  sometimes  called  the  Major  Prophets,     So  we 
must  learn 

X.  FOUR  LONG  BOOKS  OF  PROPHECY 

I.  Isaiah,  the  gospel  prophet.  He  rebuked  the  people's  sins  and 
told  of  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  the  Saviour  whom  God  had 
promised. 

II.  Jeremiah,  the  weeping  prophet.  He  told  the  Jews  that  God 
would  carry  them  away  to  Babylon  for  their  sins. 

The  book  of  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  comes  in  after  his 
book  of  prophecy ;  but  it  belongs  among  the  books  of  poetry. 

III.  Ezekiel,  the  exile  prophet.  He  lived  with  the  Jews  in  Baby- 
lonia, during  the  captivity,  and  gave  them  the  word  of  Jehovah 

IV.  Daniel,  the  noble  prophet.  It  tells  the  wonderful  things  that 
happened  to  Daniel  in  Babylon. 

Write  in  your  notebook,  for  each  prophet,  the  first  words  and 
the  number  of  the  chapters ;  and  find  a  passage  giving  a  sample  of 
the  prophet's  teaching. 

1  What  were  the  prophets? 

2  Name  some  of  the  subjects  on  which  the  prophets  wrote. 

3  How  many  books  of  prophecy  are  there? 

4  What  are  the  long  books  sometimes  called? 

5  Who  was  Isaiah? 

6  Of  whom  did  he  tell  ? 

7  Who  was  Jeremiah  ? 

8  What  did  he  predict? 

9  What  book  follows  Jeremiah? 

10  Who  was  Ezekiel? 

11  What  did  he  do  and  tell? 

12  Who  was  Daniel? 

13  Where  did  he  live  and  work? 


LESSON  XI 

The  Prophets,  continued 

Besides    the    four   Major    Prophets,    we   have   the   twelve    Minor 
Prophets,  which  originally  formed  one  book.      Some  of  these  men 


THE    OLD    TESTAMENT 


21 


were  fully  as  great  as  the  first  four,  but  their  books  are  shorter. 
Let   us  learn 


XI.     TWELVE 

I.  Ho-se'a. 
II.  Joel. 
HI.  A'mos. 


SHORT    BOOKS 


OF    PROPHECY 

IV.  0-ba-di'ah. 
V.  Jo'nah. 
VI.  Mi'cah. 


Hosea  and  Amos  preached  to  the  people  of  Israel,  the  northern 
kingdom.  Hosea  rebukes  Israel  severely  for  its  idolatry,  but  tells 
of  God's  forgiving  love.  Amos  rebukes  the  selfishness  and  wicked- 
ness of  Israel,  and  their  worship  of  Jeroboam's  calves.  Jonah  was 
also  a  prophet  of  Israel ;  but  the  book  of  Jonah  tells  only  of  his 
preaching  to  the  people  of  Nineveh.  He  was  the  first  foreign  mis- 
sionary. 

The  other  nine  were  prophets  of  Judah.  Scholars  are  not  agreed 
as  to  the  time  when  Joel  wrote.  He  predicted  the  coming  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  on  God's  people.  Obadiah's  short  message  is  all  about 
the  people  of  Edom,  south  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Micah  predicted  that 
the  Messiah  should  come  forth  from  Bethlehem. 


the    books    of    the    twelve    Minor    Prophets    originally 


minor 


I   How    were 
arranged  ? 

2.  In  what  respect  are  they 
Name  the  first  six. 

Which  three  were  prophets  of  Israel? 
For  what  does  Hosea  rebuke  Israel? 
Of  what  does  he  tell  ? 
What  things  does  Amos  rebuke? 

8  Of  what  does  the  book  of  Jonah  tell? 

9  What  is  uncertain  about  Joel  ? 

10  What  did  he  predict? 

11  Of  whom  did  Obadiah  write? 

12  What  did  Micah  predict? 


LESSON  XII 

The  Prophets,   concluded 
VII.  Na'hum.  X.  Hag'ga-i. 

VIIL  Ha-bak'kuk.  XL  Zech-a-ri'ah. 

IX.  Zeph-a-ni'ah.  XII.  Mal'a-chi. 


22  INTERAIEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

Of  these  six  prophets,  the  first  three  prophesied  in  Judah  before 
the  captivity.  Nahum  comforted  the  people  of  Judah  by  predicting 
the  downfall  of  Nineveh,  the  great  city  of  their  enemy,  the  Assyr- 
ians. Habakkuk  was  probably  one  of  the  temple  singers ;  he  fore- 
told the  coming  of  the  Chaldseans.  who  were  to  take  and  destroy 
Jerusalem.  Zephaniah  was  the  great-great-grandson  of  King  Heze- 
kiah.     He  preached  about  God's  judgment  on  the  wicked. 

The  last  three  prophets  came  after  the  captivity.  Haggai  and 
Zechariah  preached  to  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem  after  the  return,  and 
urged  them  to  rise  and  rebuild  the  temple.  Malachi  rebuked  the 
Jews  for  their  careless  worship,  and  foretold  that  Elijah  the  prophet 
would  come  again  to  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord.  He  wrote  some- 
where between  450  and  400  b.  c. 

1  Name  the  last  six  of  the  Minor  Prophets. 

2  Where  and  when  did  the  first  three  prophesy? 

3  How  did  Nahum  comfort  Judah? 

4  Who,  probably,  was  Habakkuk? 

5  What  did  he  foretell  ? 

6  Who  was  Zephaniah  ? 

7  About  what  did  he  preach  ? 

8  When  did  the  last  three  prophets  come? 

9  To  whom  and  when  did  Haggai  and  Zechariah  preach? 

10  What  did  they  say? 

1 1  What  did  Malachi  say  ? 

12  About  when  did  he  write? 


LESSON  XIII 
Review 

Go  over  the  lessons  again,  complete  your  notebook,  and  endeavor 
to  fix  in  your  memory  the  points  learned  in  each  lesson.  This  re- 
view chart  will  help  : — 

I.  Twelve  features  of  the  ancient  world: — 
Four  seas,  C.  S.,  P.  G.,  R.  S.,  M.  S. 
Four  rivers.  T..  E.,  N.,  J. 
Four  countries,  C.  or  B.,  A.,  E.,  C. 

n.  Four  ancient  empireS;  E.,  A.,  C.  or  B.,  P. 


THE    OLD    TESTAMENT  23 

III.  Five  Old  Testament  leaders,  A.,  M.,  D.,  E.,  N. 

IV.  Seven  divisions  of  the  Old  Testament,  5  B.  L.,  3  B.  E.  H., 
3  D.  B.  M.  H.,  3  B.  L.  H.,  6  B.  P.  W.,  4  L.  B.  P.,  12  S.  B.  P. 

V.  Five  books  of  L.,  G.  B.  B.,  E.  B.  G.  O.,  L.  L.  P.  L.,  N.  W.  B., 
D.  B.  S.  L. 

VI.  Three  books  of  E.  H.,  J.  B.  C.  C,  J.  B.  W.  S.,  R.  S.  P. 

VII.  Three  double  books  of  M.  H.,  S.  S.  K.,  K.  C.  K.,  C.  R.  K. 

VIII.  Three  books  of  L.  H.,  E.  B.  Ret.,  N.  B.  Rev.,  E.  B.  G.  P. 

IX.  Six  books  of  P.,  J.  B.  A.  G.,  Ps.  J.  H.  B.,  Pr.  W.  B.,  E.  B. 
A.  M.,  S.  S.  L.  B.,  L.  S.  B. 

X.  Four  long  books  of  prophecy,  I.  G.  P.,  J.  W.  P.,  E.  E.  P., 
D.  N.  P. 

XL  Twelve  short  books  of  prophecy : — 

Hos.,  Obad.,  Nah.,  Zech., 

Joel,  Jon.,  Hab.,  Hag., 

Am.,  Mic,  Zeph.,  Mai. 

Remember  to  find  and  write  down  a  passage  from  each  prophet 
giving  a  fair  sample  of  his  teaching.  If  the  passage  is  longer  than 
one  verse,  write  the  first  sentence  only.  In  each  case  write  the 
reference,  the  place  where  found. 


PART  II 

OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY:  FROM  THE 

CREATION  TO  THE  CLOSE  OF 

DAVID'S  REIGN 


Wlh  (H^stamntt  l^istnru,  Qlr^attnn  tn  iamb 


LESSON  I 

The  Beginnings  of  History- 
All  that  the  Bible  tells  us  about  the  beginnings  of  history  is  con- 
tained in  the  first  eleven  chapters  of  Genesis.  These  chapters  form 
an  introduction  to  the  history  of  the  Hebrews,  God's  chosen  people. 
The  Hebrews  belonged  to  the  Semitic  family  of  nations;  that  is,  they 
were  among  the  descendants  of  Shem  or  Sem,  the  son  of  Noah. 
Far  to  the  eastward  of  Palestine,  in  the  rich,  hot  plains  through 

which  flows  the  river  Eu- 
phrates, lived  the  Babylonians, 
an  ancient  people,  who  built 
great  cities  and  wrote  their 
history  on  clay  bricks  in 
strange,  wedge-shaped  let- 
ters. North  of  these  Baby- 
lonians, on  the  other  great 
river,  the  Tigris,  lived  the  As- 
syrians, also  a  great  and  an- 
cient people.  It  was  some- 
where in  the  country  watered 


MAP   2.      THE   LAND   WHERE   HISTORY   BEGAN 


by  these  two  rivers  that  Bible  history  began. 
Learn 

I.     FOUR    EARLY    EVENTS 


I.  The  Creation  of  the  world  by  God's  power,  in  successive  stages 
represented  by  days. 

H.  The  Fall  of  man  into  sin,  and  the  banishment  of  Adam  and 
Eve  from  the  Garden  of  Eden, 

27 


28 


INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


HI.  The  Deluge  of  waters  that  destroyed  all  but  the  family  of 
Noah,  saved  in  the  ark. 

IV.  The  Dispersion  of  the  different  races  of  men  from  the  Plain 
of  Shinar,  or  Babylonia,  after  the  Deluge. 


Map  Key.- 
Canaan;  GS, 
Desert. 


I,    Babylonia;    2,   Assyria;    3,    Padan-aram;  4,    Syria   or  Aram;    5, 
Great    Sea   or    Mediterranean;    PG,    Persian    Gulf;    AD,    Arabian 


1  Where  in  the  Bible  do  we  learn  of  the  beginnings  of  history? 

2  What  do  these  chapters  introduce  ? 

3  From  whom  were  the  Hebrews  descended  ? 

4  Where  did  the  Babylonians  live? 

5  The  Assyrians? 

6  What  two  bodies  of  water  are  named  on  the  map? 

7  Find  two  "seas"  and  a  river  connecting  them. 

8  Where  did  Bible  history  begin? 

9  Name  the  four  early  events. 


LESSON  II 

Abraham,  the  Friend  of  God 


Not  far  from  where  was  once  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  Eu- 
phrates lay  an  ancient  city  of  the  Babylonians,  named  Ur.  In  that 
city,  or  near  by,  lived  an  old 
man  named  Terah,  his  son 
Abram,  and  other  members 
of  his  family  or  clan.  See 
Genesis,  ch.  12.  God  called 
Abram  to  leave  Ur,  take  his 
father  and  all  the  family,  and 
travel  far  up  the  great  river 
to  a  country  called  Padan- 
aram.  There  he  settled  in  a 
city  named  Haran,  and  there 
Terah  died.  By  and  by,  God 
called  Abram  to  move  again;  so  taking  his  wife  Sarai,  his  nephew 
Lot,  and  a  large  company  of  servants  and  followers,  and  leaving 
behind  his  brother  Nahor  and  his  family,  Abram  journeyed  south- 


MAP  3.    Abraham's  wandering 


OLD   TESTAMENT    HISTORY,   CREATION    TO   DAVID  2g 

west  and  came  to  the  land  of  Canaan.  God  promised  this  land  to 
him  and  to  his  descendants ;  and  so  it  is  sometimes  called  "the  Prom- 
ised Land." 

Learn 
II.     SEVEN   EVENTS   IN   THE    LIFE    OF   ABRAHAM 

L  Migrates  from  XJr,  journeying  as  already  described. 

IL  Wanders  in  Canaan.  Being  shepherds  and  herdsmen,  and  the 
land  being  dry,  Abram  and  his  company  had  to  move  from  place  to 
place  to  find  pasture. 

IIL  Separates  from  Lot,  who  took  the  fertile  plain  of  the  Jordan, 
while  Abram  chose  the  rocky  center  of  the  land,  the  "hill  country." 

IV.  Receives  the  promise  of  a  son,  through  whom  he  shall  have 
a  great  multitude  of  descendants.  At  this  time  God  changes  his  name 
to  Abraham,  and  his  wife's  to  Sarah. 

V.  Sends  out  Ishmael,  the  son  of  Hagar,  who  goes  to  the  Arabian 
Desert  and  becomes  the  father  of  the  wandering  Arabs  or  Bedouin 
people. 

VL  Obeys  God  by  preparing  to  offer  Isaac,  his  own  son,  upon  an 
altar.     God  saved  Isaac  and  provided  another  offering. 

VII.  Finds  a  wife  for  Isaac  at  Haran— his  cousin  Rebekah,  the 
granddaughter  of  Nahor  and  sister  of  Laban.  Read  the  beautiful 
story,  Genesis,  ch.  24. 

Map  Key.— I,  Ur;  2,  Babylon;  3,  Haran;  4,  Nineveh;  5,  Beer-sheba. 

Notebook  Work. — For  each  of  these  lessons,  try  to  write  out  the 
substance  in  the  form  of  a  brief  narrative,  following  your  list  of  things 
learned.  Watch  the  Sunday-school  lesson  papers,  magazines,  etc.,  for 
pictures  that  can  be  clipped  and  pasted  in  to  illustrate  the  story. 

1  Find  the  five  cities  on  the  map. 

2  What  persons  lived  in  Ur? 

3  To  what  city,  in  what  land,  did  they  go? 

4  Who  died  there? 

5  Whom  did  Abram  take  with  him  from  Haran? 

6  To  what  land  did  he  come?     Locate  it. 


30 


INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


7  Why  is  Canaan  called  "the  Promised  Land"  ? 

8  Why  is  Abram  generally  called  Abraham  ? 

9  What  are  the  seven  events  in  the  life  of  Abraham? 


LESSON  III 
The  Family  of  Jacob 


Isaac,  the  son  and  heir  of  Abraham,  was  a  peaceful  shepherd, 
dwelling  principally  at  Be'er-she'ba,  on  the  southern  border  of 
Canaan.  His  twin  sons  were  Jacob  and 
Esau.  Esau  had  the  birthright,  but 
Jacob,  "the  supplanter,''  bought  it  from 
him  for  a  mess  of  pottage,  and  by  a 
trick  secured  his  aged  father's  blessing, 
too.  Forced  to  flee  from  his  brother's 
anger,  he  stopped  on  his  way  north  at 
Bethel,  where  he  had  a  vision,  and  then 
went  on  to  the  old  home  of  his  mother 
Rebekah  at  Haran.  Here  he  lived  for 
many  years  with  his  uncle  Laban,  mar- 
ried Laban's  two  daughters.  Leah  and 
Rachel,  and  had  twelve  sons.  Return- 
ing to  Canaan,  he  made  peace  with 
Esau,  bought  a  field  at  Shechem.  and 
continued  to  wander  with  his  flocks  and 
herds,  as  Abraham  and  Isaac  had  done. 

Of  Jacob's  twelve  sons,  the  favorite  was  Joseph,  son  of  his  be- 
loved wife  Rachel.  This  favoritism  made  trouble,  which  ended  in 
the  brothers  selling  Joseph  into  Egypt  as  a  slave.  Did  you  ever 
read  the  story  of  Joseph,  for  yourself?  It  begins  at  Genesis,  chap- 
ter Z7- 


MAP    4.      CANAAN 


Learn 


III.     TWELVE    SONS    OF    JACOB 


I.  Reu'ben, 
II.  Sim'e-on, 

III.  Le'vi, 

IV.  Ju'dah, 


V.  Dan, 
VI.  Naph'ta-li, 
VTL  Gad, 
VKL  Ash'er, 


IX.  Is'sa-char, 
X.  Zeb'u-lun, 
XL  Jo'seph, 
XII.  Ben'ja-min. 


OLD  TESTAMENT    HISTORY,   CREATION    TO   DAVID  3I 

Map  Key.— I,  Damascus,  the  home  of  Eliezer,  Abraham's  servant;  2, 
Shechem,  where  Abraham  built  an  ahar;  3,  Beer-sheba,  where  Isaac  dwelt  for 
many  years;  4,  Hebron,  where  Abraham  dwelt  and  where  Sarah  was  buried; 
S,  Bethel;  6,   Dothan,  where  the  brothers  sold  Joseph. 

1  Where  did  Isaac  and  Rebekah  live? 

2  Who  were  their  two  sons? 

3  Why  did  Jacob  have  to  flee  from  home? 

4  Whom  did  he  bring  with  him  on  his  return? 

5  Who  was  Jacob's  favorite  son  ? 

6  What  happened  to  him  ? 

7  Find  the  six  places  on  the  map. 

8  Repeat  the  names  of  Jacob's  twelve  sons. 


LESSON  IV 

Israel  in  Egypt 

Did  3'ou  read  that  story  of  Joseph?     If  not,  do  it  now. 

When  Jacob  was  converted  to  God's  will  God  gave  him  a  new 
name,  Is'ra-el,  which  means  "a  prince  with  God,"  So  his  descend- 
ants are  often  called  the  children  of  Israel.  We  must  now  follow  the 
steps  by  which  Jacob's  family  became  a  nation. 

Learn 
IV.     FIVE    STEPS    IN    THE    MAKING    OF    ISRAEL 

I.  The  Rise  of  Joseph.  The  boy  who  was  sold  as  a  slave  rose, 
by  God's  help,  to  be  ruler  of  all  Egypt  and  manager  of  its  vast 
stores  of  grain.  So,  when  there  was  famine  in  Canaan,  it  was  to 
their  own  brother  that  the  sons  of  Jacob  came,  seeking  food. 

II.  The  Settlement  in  Egypt.  Joseph  finally  made  himself 
known  to  his  brethren,  and  invited  them  to  come  with  their  fam- 
ilies and  servants  and  flocks,  and  with  old  Jacob,  and  settle  in 
Egypt.  This  they  did,  settling  in  the  fertile  land  of  Goshen,  in 
the  delta  or  flat  country  among  the  mouths  of  the  river  Nile. 

III.  The  Multiplying.  Here  they  multiplied  and  grew,  until  in 
a  few  hundred  years — the  exact  time  is  uncertain — they  had  become 
a  great  multitude. 


32  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

IV.  The  Bondage.  A  new  king  arose;  that  is,  a  new  line  or 
d\nasty  of  the  Pharaohs  or  kings  of  Egypt.  This  king,  probably 
Ramses  II.,  oppressed  Israel,  made  the  people  toil  as  slaves,  and 
tried  to  weaken  them  by  ordering  all  male  infants  to  be  killed. 

V.  The  Deliverance  from  this  cruel  bondage,  long  delayed,  came 
at  length  through  the  work  of  Moses,  God's  appointed  leader  of 
the  new   nation. 

1  Who  received  the  name  of  Israel? 

2  What  are  his  descendants  sometimes  called? 

3  Name  the  sons  of  Jacob's  family. 

4  What  did  Joseph  rise  to  be  ? 

5  Why  did  the  brothers  come  to  Egypt? 

6  Where  did  the  family  settle  ? 

7  What  did  the  family  come  to  be  ? 

8  What  change  brought  trouble  on  them? 

9  What  did  Pharaoh  do  to  them  ? 

10  Whom  did  God  appoint  to  deliver  them? 

11  What  were  the  five  steps  in  the  making  of  Israel? 


LESSON  V 

Moses 

The  bondage  of  Israel  kept  growing  worse  and  worse;  but  God 
had  not  forgotten  his  people.  Moses  was  born,  and  God  was  getting 
him  ready.  Forty  years  he  spent  in  Egypt;  forty  more  in  the  land 
of  Midian;  and  forty  more  in  his  great  work  of  leading  and  teach- 
ing the  people. 

In  studying  his  life  let  us  picture  and  learn 

V.     EIGHT    SCENES   IN"   THE   LIFE    OF  MOSES 

T.  Baby.  His  mother,  Joch'e-bed,  has  just  placed  him  in  the 
river,  in  a  little  ark  or  boat  of  bulrushes.  Pharaoh's  daughter  finds 
him,  adopts  him,  and  sends  his  sister  Mir'i-am  to  fetch  his  own 
mother  to  be  his  nurse. 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    CREATION    TO    DAVID  33 

II.  Scholar.  As  the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter,  we  see  the  young 
man  studying  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Eg3'ptians  with  the  learned 
priests  in  their  temple. 

III.  Exile.  At  forty  years  of  age  Moses  joined  his  people,  tried 
to  help  them,  and  was  forced  to  flee.  We  see  him  now,  tending 
the  flocks  of  Je'thro,  his  father-in-law,  in  the  wilderness. 

IV.  Commissioner.  Seeing  a  burning  bush,  Moses  drew  near  and 
heard  God's  voice.  God  now  commissioned  or  appointed  him  to 
go  back,  find  Aa'ron  his  brother,  and  deliver  Israel  from  the  hands 
of  Pharaoh. 

V.  Spokesman.  We  see  him  now  before  Pharaoh's  throne,  say- 
ing, "Thus  saith  Jehovah  .  .  .  Let  my  people  go.  that  they  may 
serve  me."     It  took  ten  plagues  to  make  Pharaoh  willing  to  do  this. 

VI.  Leader.  At  the  Red  Sea  we  see  Moses  stretching  forth  his 
rod  as  God  commanded,  and  leading  the  people  out  of  Eg3^pt,  through 
the  sea  on  dry  land,  to  the  wilderness  and  freedom. 

VII.  Lawgiver.  At  Mount  Sinai  we  see  him  giving  the  people 
the  Ten  Commandments,  and  other  laws  of  God. 

VIII.  Prophet.  After  the  long  wanderings  in  the  wilderness  we 
see  the  aged  Moses  with  the  people  gathered  round  him,  as  he  tells 
them  again  God's  law,  and  how  they  must  observe  it  in  their  new 
country.  Then  God  brought  him  to  the  top  of  Pisgah,  showed  him 
the  land,  and  took  him  home. 

1  Why  were  the  children  of  Israel  in   Egypt  tempted  to  think  that 
God  had  forgotten  them  ? 

2  What  were  the  three  divisions  of  the  life  of  Moses? 

3  Who  was  his  mother?  his  sister?  his  brother? 

4  Who  adopted  him  and  educated  him  ? 

5  Why  did  he  have  to  leave  Egypt? 

6  How  did  he  become  God's  commissioner? 

7  How  did  God.  through  Moses,  make  Pharaoh  willing  for  the  Israel- 
ites to  go  ? 

8  By  what  wonderful  deliverance  did  they  leave  Egypt? 
I)  Where  did  Moses  see  the  Promised  Land? 

10  Name  the  eight  scenes  in  the  life  of  Moses, 


34 


INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


LESSON  VI 
Israel  in  the  Wilderness 

The  ten  plagues  which  Moses,  at  God's  direction,  called  down  upon 
Pharaoh  ended  with  the  death  of  each  firstborn  Egyptian  child. 
This  was  so  terrible  that  Pharaoh  started  to  drive  the  Israelites  out, 
instead  of  holding  them  in.  But  he  soon  repented,  ordered  out  his 
army,  and  chased  Israel  into  a  trap,  as  he  thought,  with  the  moun- 
tains behind  and  to  the  left  of  them,  his  army  in  front,  and  the 
Red  Sea — the  upper  end  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez — on  their  right  hand. 
From  this  peril  God  saved  them  by  a  great  deliverance.  This  going 
out  of  Israel  from  Egj^pt  is  called  "the  Exodus." 

Learn 


VI.     FIVE    MARCHES    IN    THE    WILDERNESS 

I.  From  Ram'e-aes  to  the  Red  Sea.  On  the  night  of  the  pass- 
over,  Ex.  12 :  29-42,  the  people  gathered  and  started  for  Rameses, 
continuing  their  journey  until  stopped  b}^  the  Red  Sea. 

II.  From  the  Red  Sea  to  Mount  Si'nai.  After  the  crossing 
they  journeyed  down  the  coast 

of  the  Sinai  Peninsula,  and 
camped  in  front  of  "the  mount 
of  God." 

III.  From  Sinai  to  Ka- 
desh-bar'ne-a.  After  about 
a  year  at  Sinai,  they  marched 
through  the  Wilderness  of 
Pa'ran  to  the  oasis  of  Ka- 
desh,  and  there  sent  spies  up 
into  the  land  of  Ca'naan. 

IV.  From  Ka'desh  around 
to  Kadesh.     Turned  back  for  their  sins,  they  lived  a  desert  life  for 
thirty-eight  years,  and  then  began  to  move 

V.  From  Kadesh  to  Mo'ab.  After  a  long  and  hard  journey, 
they  reached  the  plains  of  Moab,  near  the  lower  end  of  the  river 
Jordan. 


MAP    5.      EGYPT    AND    SINAI 


OLD   TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    CREATION   TO   DAVID  35 


Map  Key. — i,  Rameses,  in  the  land  of  Goshen;  2,  the  place  where  the  Red 
Sea  was  crossed;  3,  Mount  Sinai;  4,  Kadesh-barnea;  5,  the  plains  of  Moab. 
For  the  dotted  line  between  the  two  gulfs,  see  Map  Key  to  Lesson  XII. 

1  What  was  the  tenth  plague? 

2  Into  what  trap  did  Pharaoh  chase  Israel  ? 

3  How  were  the  people  saved? 

4  Who  led  them? 

5  From  what  point  was  the  first  start  made? 

6  Along  what  shore  was  the  second  march  ? 

7  How  long  did  they  stay  at  Sinai  ? 

8  To  what  point  did  they  march  then  ? 

9  What  did  they  do  for  thirty-eight  years  ? 

10  Describe  the  last  journey. 

1 1  What  were  the  five  marches  in  the  wilderness  ? 


LESSON  VII 

The  Settlement  in  Canaan 

After  forty  years  of  marching  and  camping,  Israel  was  at  last  in 
sight  of  the  Promised  Land.  It  lay  just  across  the  Jordan,  with 
the  walls  of  Jericho  in  the  distance ;  and  beyond  were  the  high  hills 
of  central  Palestine.  Israel  was  encamped  on  the  plains  of  Moab, 
and  evidently  stayed  there  for  some  time  before  crossing  the  river. 
While  there  Moses,  having  given  the  people  his  last  words,  died, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Joshua,  the  new  leader. 

Learn 

VII.     SEVEN  STEPS  IN  THE  CONQUEST  OF  CANAAN 

I.  The  east- Jordan  campaign.  This  began  before  Moses  died; 
in  fact,  as  soon  as  Israel  reached  the  land  of  Moab.  North  of  Moab. 
guarding  the  fine  table-land  of  Gilead,  was  Heshbon,  the  city  of 
Sihon,  king  of  the  Amorites.  North  of  Sihon's  kingdom,  beyond 
the  river  Jabbok,  lay  the  kingdom  of  Og,  king  of  Bashan.  All 
this  country  was   conquered  and  subdued.     Num.  21:21  to  22:1. 

II.  The  encampment  at  Gilgal,  near  Jericho.  Crossing  the 
river  by  a  miracle,  the  host  of  Israel  established  itself  in  a  forti- 
fied camp  in  the  Jordan  Valley.  This  camp  became  Joshua's 
headquarters  and  base  of  supplies  during  most  of  the  war.  Josh., 
ch.  3;  4:  19;  10:6-9. 


36 


INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


III.  The  conquest  of  Jericho  and  Ai,  two  strong  cities. 
Jericho  at  the  mouth  and  Ai  at  the  head  of  the  valley  which 
led  up  to  the  center  of  the  hill  country. 

When  these  had  been  captured  by  God's 
lielp  the  way  into  the  land  was  open. 
Josh.,  chs.  6,  8. 

IV.  The  southern  campaign.  The 
king  of  Jerusalem,  the  strongest  city  in 
southern  Palestine,  formed  an  alliance  of 
five  cities  to  attack  Gibeon,  a  city  which 
had  made  peace  with  Joshua.  Hearing 
of  this,  Joshua  marched  quickly  from 
Gilgal  up  the  valley  to  the  divide,  or 
top  of  the  ridge,  and  encountered  the 
enemy  at  Beth-horon,  driving  them  south- 
ward with  great  slaughter  and  occupying 
the  land,  one  city  after  another.  Josh., 
ch.   10.  MAP  6.    Joshua's  campaigns 

V.  The  northern  campaign.     In  the 

same  way  the  country  to  the  north  was  taken,  all  except  part  of 
the  plain  of  Esdraelon  and  the  strong  cities  which  guarded  it. 
These  v/ere  still  held  by  the  Canaanites.  Josh.,  ch.  ii;  Judg., 
ch.  I. 

VI.  The  division  of  the  land,  according  to  God's  direction,  each 
tribe  except  Levi  receiving  its  portion.  Much  of  the  land,  how- 
ever, remained  unsubdued,  like  the  city  of  Jebus,  or  Jerusalem, 
which  was  not  finally  taken  till  the  days  of  David. 

VII.  The  disbanding  of  the  army.  The  war  over,  the  soldiers 
of  the  three  east- Jordan  tribes  rejoined  their  families,  and  the  rest 
went  to  their  allotted  portions. 

Map  Key.— M,  Moab;  G,  Gilead;  B,  Bashan;  E,  Esdraelon;  i,  Heshbon;  2, 
Gilgal;  3,  Jericho;  4,  Ai;  5,  Beth-horon;  6,  Jebus  or  Jerusalem. 


1  What  parts   of  the  Promised   Land   could  the  Israelites  see   from 
the  plains  of  Moab? 

2  Who  now  became  Israel's  leader? 

3  What  two  kingdoms  were  first  conquered  ? 

4  How  was  the  Jordan  crossed? 

5  What  was  the  importance  of  Gilgal  to  Joshua? 


OLD  TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    CREATION   TO   DAVID 


Zl 


6  Why  did  he  attack  Jericho  and  Ai? 

7  Who  headed  the  league  of  five  cities? 

8  At  what  place  did  Joshua  defeat  them? 

9  How  much  did  Joshua  conquer  to  the  north  ? 

10  After  the  conquest,  what  two  things  remained  to  be  done? 

11  Recite  the  seven  steps  in  the  conquest  of  Canaan. 


LESSON  VIII 

The  Tribes  in  Canaan 

Jacob,  or  Israel,  had  twelve  sons,  whose  names  we  have  already 
learned.  These  are  called  the  twelve  patriarchs.  Each  of  them 
had  descendants.  The  land  of  Canaan  was  divided  into  twelve 
portions  by  Joshua ;  and  for  the  most  part  each  tribe,  the  descendants 
of  one  patriarch,  had  one  portion.  But  there  were  some  changes 
and  rearrangements,  which  will  confuse  us  if  we  do  not  notice  them 
carefully. 

The  tribe  of  Joseph  was  divided  between  his  two  sons,  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh.  Ephraim  was  a  strong  and  numerous  tribe,  and 
had  one  of  the  best  portions.  Manasseh 
had  two  portions ;  his  oldest  son,  Machir, 
had  one,  east  of  the  Jordan ;  and  the 
rest  of  the  tribe  lived  in  a  portion  north 
of  Ephraim  and  south  of  the  mountain 
range  of  Carmel.  So  there  were  really 
three  portions  for  the  descendants  of 
Joseph,  although  Manasseh  was  always 
counted  as  two  half-tribes. 

The  tribe  of  Simeon  was  never  very 
strong.  They  were  given  the  desert 
country  south  of  Judah  and  within  its 
boundaries.  We  hear  very  little  of 
them  after  the  settlement;  they  were 
practically  lost  in  the  desert,  or  else 
combined  with  the  tribe  of  Judah. 

The  tribe  of  Levi  had  no  regular  in- 
heritance, but  lived  in  villages  and  cities  of  their  own  throughout  the 
other  tribes.  They  were  the  ministers  of  God's  worship ;  the  Lord 
was  their  portion. 


MAP    7.      THE    TWELVE    TRIBES 


38  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

We  must  also  remember  that  none  of  the  tribes,  when  first  located, 
had  the  gromid  all  to  itself.  There  were  many  other  cities  and 
peoples,  especially  in  the  low  country — the  plains  along  the  coast, 
the  Jordan  Valley,  and  the  great  Plain  of  Esdraelon.  But  Israel 
had  the  hill  country  pretty  well  in  hand ;  and  as  the  years  went  on 
the  tribes  extended  their  conquests,  until,  at  last,  David  brought  the 
whole   land   firmly   under  his   rule. 

We  are  now  ready  to  learn 

VIII.     TWELVE    TRIBAL    DIVISIOJxTS 

I.  Three  east  of  Jordan:  Reuben,  Gad,  and  the  half-tribe  of  Ma- 
nasseh. 

II.  Two  southern:  Judah  (including  Simeon)  and  Benjamin. 

III.  Two  central:  Ephraim,  and  the  other  half  of  Manasseh.  Dan 
originally  was  located  at  the  sea,  west  of  Manasseh,  but  moved  north. 

IV.  Five  northern:  Issachar,  Asher,  Zebulun,  Naphtali,  Dan. 

Map  Key.— J,  Jerusalem;  B,  Beer-sheba;  D,.Dan,  the  city  to  which  the  tribe 
moved;  i,  Reuben;  2,  Gad;  3,  Manasseh,  east  of  the  Jordan;  4,  Judah;  5, 
Simeon;  6,  Benjamin;  7,  Ephraim;  8,  Manasseh  west  of  the  Jordan;  9,  Dan, 
as  originally  assigned;  10,  Issachar;  11,  Asher;  12,  Zebulun;  13,  Naphtali.  Note 
that  the  land  stretched  "from  Dan  to  Beer-sheba." 

1  Why  is  there  no  tribe  of  Joseph  on  the  map  ? 

2  Why  are  there  two  places  for  Manasseh? 

3  Why  do  we  hear  so  little  of  Simeon  ? 

4  What  did  the  tribe  of  Levi  do? 

5  How  was  the  conquest  incomplete? 

6  Who  finished  it  at  last? 

7  Locate  the  tribes  east  of  Jordan. 

8  Locate  the  two  southern  tribes. 

9  Locate  the  two  central  tribes. 

10  Which  were  the  northern  tribes?     Locate  them. 


LESSON  IX 

The  Times  of  the  Judg-es 

The   history   of   the   twelve   tribes    in   Canaan,   until   the   days   of 
Eli  and  Samuel,  is  given  in  the  Book  of  Judges.    From  that  we  learn 


OLD  TESTAMENT    HISTORY,   CREATION    TO   DAVID 


39 


that  Israel  kept  forgetting  Jehovah  their  God;  that  when  they  forgot 
and  went  after  other  gods,  God  punished  them  through  foreign 
oppression;  and  that  after  every  oppression  when  they  repented,  he 
raised  up  a  dehverer  to  save  them.  These  dehverers  were  called 
judges.  Twelve  are  named;  but  we  will  learn  only  those  associated 
with  the 

IX.     SIX  OPPRESSIONS    UNDER    THE    JUDGES 


I.  The  Mesopotamian  oppression.     Mes-o-po-ta'mi-a  means  "be- 
tween the  rivers"  ;  the  country  north  of  Abraham's  old  home,  between 
the    Euphrates    and    the    Tigris.      This 
oppression  was  broken  by  Oth'ni-el. 

II.  The  Moabite  oppression.  Mo'ab 
lay  east  of  the  Dead  Sea.  This  was 
broken   by   E'hud. 

III.  The  Canaanite  oppression.  The 
Ca'naan-ites  or  original  inhabitants  held 
the  lower  parts  of  the  land,  like  the 
Plain  of  Esdraelon,  and  had  strong 
cities  like  Jcz're-el  and  Beth-she'an. 
Now  they  united  and  oppressed  the 
northern  tribes.  Deb'o-rah  the  prophet- 
ess and  Ba'rak  led  against  Sis'e-ra  the 
Canaanite  general,   and  defeated  him. 

IV.  The  Midianite  oppression.  The 
Mid'i-an-ites  were  A'rabs  (a  as  in  "at") 
from    the    eastern    desert    lands.      Their 

oppression  was  broken  by  Gid'e-on. 

V.  The  Ammonite  oppression.  The  Am'mon-ites  lived  north  of 
Moab,  east  of  the  Jordan.  It  was  Jeph'thah  who  broke  this  oppres- 
sion. 

VI.  Last,  worst,  and  longest  was  the  Phi-lis'tine  oppression. 
The  Philistines  had  five  strong  cities  in  the  plain  southwest  of  the 
hill  country  of  Judah,  along  the  sea.  Sam'son  worried  them,  but 
did  not  break  their  grip,  which  continued,  ofif  and  on.  through  the 
judgeships  of  Eli  the  priest,  and  Samuel  the  prophet,  and  the  reign 
of  Saul  the  king. 


LANDS    OF   THE   WEST 


40  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

Map  Key.— D,  Damascus;  H,  Hamath;  i,  the  Philistines;  2,  the  Amalekites; 
3,  Edom;  4,  Moab;  5,  Ammon;  6,  Phoenicia;  7,  Zobah;  8,  Hamath.  There  were 
also  the  Canaanites  in  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  and  Midianites  wandering  in  the 
desert  to  the  east  and  south.  Mesopotamia  lay  beyond  the  Euphrates;  see 
Map  2.  The  kingdoms  of  Zcbah  and  Hamath  were  of  uncertain  extent;  see  I 
Sam.  14:47;  II  Sam.,  ch.  8.  The  dotted  line  with  a  double  curve  represents 
the  botindary  later  established  between  Israel  and  Judah. 

1  What  does  the  book  of  Judges  tell  us? 

2  How  did  God  punish  Israel? 

3  For  what  sin  ? 

4  What  was  a  "judge"? 

5  Who  broke  the  Mesopotamian  oppression? 

6  The  Moabite  oppression  ? 

7  Where  were  the  Canaanites  located  ? 

8  Who  broke  their  oppression  ? 

9  Who  delivered  from  the  Midianites?  the  Ammonites? 

10  Who  fought  against  the  Philistine  oppression? 

11  Name  the  six  oppressions  under  the  judges. 


LESSON  X 

Samuel 

The  times  of  the  judges,  as  we  have  seen,  w^ere  times  of  war.  The 
land  was  cut  up  into  sections,  with  strong  cities  of  the  enemy  lying 
between ;  and  the  Philistines  and  other  oppressors  found  it  usually 
an  easy  prey.  The  sanctuary  of  Jehovah  was  at  Shiloh.  in  the  land 
of  Ephraim.  Old  Eli  had  been  priest  and  judge  together  for  some 
years,  when  a  child  was  born  who  was  to  bring  the  line  of  judges 
to  a  close.  His  mother's  name  was  Hannah.  His  birthplace  was  at 
Ramathaim,  "the  two  Ramahs"  or  hilltops,  in  the  hill  country  of 
Ephraim.  His  name  was  Samuel,  "asked  of  God"  ;  and  his  mother 
gave  him  to  God,  and  brotight  him  to  the  tabernacle  to  live  with  Eli. 

Learn 

X.     SIX    SCENES    IN    THE    LIFE    OF    SAMUEL 

L  Hearing  Jehovah's  voice.  We  see  the  boy  Samuel  kneeling, 
as  Eli  had  told  him  to,  and  saying.  "Speak,  Lord;  for  thy  servant 
heareth."     God  gave  him  a  message  for  Eli.     I  Sam.,  ch.  3. 


OLD   TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    CREATION    TO   DAVID 


41 


II.  At  the  death  of  Eli.  The  old  man,  now  blind,  is  sitting  at 
the  city  gate  in  Shiloh,  waiting  for  news  from  the  battle.  His  two 
wicked  sons,  Hophni  and  Phinehas, 
liave  taken  the  holy  ark  of  God  with 
the  army,  hoping  thus  to  win  the  day 
against  the  Philistines.  A  messenger 
comes  rushing  in  and  pants  out  the 
news.  "Israel  is  fled,  .  .  .  great  slaugh- 
ter, .  .  .  thy  two  sons  .  .  .  dead,  .  .  . 
the  ark  of  God  is  taken!"  It  was  too 
much  for  old  Eli ;  he  fell  back  and  died. 
Read  the  story,  I  Sam.  4:12-18.  That 
left  young  Samuel,  apparently,  as  Eli's 
successor ;  and  he,  no  doubt,  took  charge 
at  once. 

III.  Judging  Israel.    We  see  Samuel 
assembling  all  Israel  at  Mizpah,  teaching 
them   to    forsake   their   false   gods,    and 
then    leading   them    victoriously    against 
the   Philistines.     Ch.   7. 

IV.  Making  Saul  king.  Young  Saul  has  already  found  Samuel 
and  been  anointed  by  him.  Now,  in  another  assembly  of  the  people, 
also  at  Mizpah,  he  publicly  presents  the  new  king  to  the  people. 

V.  Rebu-iing  Saul's  disobedience.  When  Saul  returned  from 
an  expedition  without  having  done  God's  bidding  exactly,  Samuel 
met  him  and  told  him  that  God  had  rejected  him  and  would  find 
another  man  to  take  his  place. 

VI.  Anointing  David.  The  man  was  found  at  Bethlehem,  and 
he  was  but  a  shepherd  boy.  But  Samuel  anointed  him  with  holy 
oil,  and  set  him  apart  to  be  God's  king  in  due  time.  Soon  after, 
Samuel  died ;  his  work  was  over. 

Map  Key. — i,  Ramathaim,  Samuel's  birthplace  and  probably  his  home;  2 
Shiloh,  where  he  lived  with  Eli;  3,  4,  5,  Gilgal,  Bethel,  Mizpah,  where  he 
judged  Israel;  6,   Bethlehem,  where  he  anointed  David;   7,    Jerusalem. 


MAP     9.      SAMUEL  S     COUNTRY 


1  Why  did  the  Philistines  find  it  easy  to  oppress  Israel? 

2  What  were  at  Shiloh  ? 

3  Why  did  the  birth  of  Samuel  mark  an  era  in  the  history  of  Israel? 

4  What  did  his  mother  do  with  him? 


42  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE   LESSONS 

5  How  did  Samuel  first  hear  Jehovah's  voice? 

6  When  was  he,  probably,  made  Eli's  successor? 

7  What  did  he  do  as  judge  of  Israel? 

8  Whom  did  he  make  king? 

9  Why  did  he  rebuke  Saul  ? 

10  What  was  his  last  important  act? 

11  Repeat  the  six  scenes  in  the  life  of  Samuel. 

LESSON  XI 

David 

The  shepherd  boy  whom  Samuel  found  at  Bethlehem,  chosen  by 
God  to  do  the  work  that  Saul  had  shown  himself  unfit  for,  grew  to 
be  one  of  the  greatest  kings  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in 
all  history.  The  Bible  tells  us  so  much  about  David  that  we  caq 
learn  only  a  little  of  it  here.  The  story  begins  at  I  Sam.,  ch.  l6, 
and  runs  to  I  Kings,  ch.  2. 

Learn  ' 

XI.     TWELVE    CHAPTEBS    IN    DAVID'S    LIFE 

These  may  be  arranged  in  four  books  to  help  your  memory. 
I.  David  the  shepherd. 
II.  David  the  slayer. 

III.  David  the  sing-er. 

First  we  see  the  ruddy  shepherd  boy  on  the  hills,  ready  to  kill 
lions  and  bears,  or  sling  stones  hard  and  true,  or  sing  and  play  on 
his  harp.  He  comes  to  the  camp,  and  there  goes  out  in  the  name  of 
the  God  of  Israel  against  Goliath  the  giant.  He  is  invited  to  King 
Saul's  house,  and  soothes  the  troubled  king  with  his  beautiful  music. 
This  is  the  first  stage  of  David's  career. 

IV.  David  the  comrade. 
V.  David  the  candidate. 

VI.  David  the  captain. 

While  at  Saul's  court  David  and  Saul's  oldest  son  Jonathan  be- 
come fast  friends,  and  make  a  covenant  of  brotherhood  with  each 
other.  David  marries  Saul's  younger  daughter  Michal,  and  is  looked 
upon  as  a  candidate  for  the  throne  when  Saul  shall  die.  This  makes 
Saul  angry,  and  David  has  to  flee  for  his  life.  Down  in  the  desert, 
at  the  cave  of  Adullam,  David  organizes  a  large  company  of  follow- 


OLD  TESTAMENT   HISTORY,   CREATION   TO  DAVID  43 

ers  and  becomes  their  captain.     They  lead  a  roving  Hfe,  full  of  ad- 
venture and  hardship. 

VIL  David  king  of  Judah. 
VIII.  David  keeping  quiet. 
IX^  David  king  of  all  Israel. 

While  Saul  and  Jonathan  and  the  army  of  Israel  were  fighting 
the  Philistines  upon  Mount  Gilboa,  David  and  his  band  were  chasing 
the  Amalekites  down  in  the  desert.  They  returned  victorious,  to 
learn  that  Saul  and  Jonathan  were  dead.  Soon  after,  the  elders  of 
Judah  chose  David  as  their  king;  and  he  moved  to  Hebron  and 
reigned  there  seven  years.  During  this  period  things  were  going 
very  badly  up  in  the  north  under  Ish-bosheth,  Saul's  son.  David 
might  easily  have  conquered  Ish-bosheth's  kingdom,  but  he  kept 
quiet ;  and  when  Ish-bosheth  was  slain  the  northern  tribes  came  to 
David  of  their  own  accord  and  made  him  king.  This  was  what  he 
had  been  waiting  for. 
X.  David's  power. 
XL  David's  penitence. 

XII.  David's  poems. 

After  David  had  established  and  extended  his  kingdom  and  empire, 
as  we  shall  learn  in  the  next  lesson,  he  fell  into  a  grievous  sin,  and 
God  sent  Nathan  the  prophet  to  rebuke  him.  David  was  penitent 
for  this,  and  God  forgave  him ;  but  punishment  came  in  his  latter 
days  in  the  revolt  of  Absalom  and  other  troul)les.  All  his  days 
David  was  a  poet.  He  wrote  a  beautiful  lament  at  the  death  of 
Saul  and  Jonathan.  The  Psalms  of  David  have  comforted  and 
helped  God's  children  in  every  age. 

I   What  did  the  shepherd  boy  of  Bethlehem  grow  to  be? 
2.  Where  is  his  story  found? 

3  What  did  he  do  in  the  camp  of  Israel  ? 

4  How  did  he  serve  King  Saul  ? 

5  How  did  he  become  a  candidate  for  Saul's  throne? 

6  What  did  he  do  at  the  cave  of  Adullam  ? 

7  Recite  the  titles  of  the  six  chapters  of  David's  life  so  far. 

8  Over  what  tribe  was  he  king  at  first  ? 

9  How  did  he  get  to  be  king  of  all  Israel  ? 

10  How  did  he  become  penitent? 

11  Where  may  David's  poems  be  found? 

12  Recite  the  titles  of  the  last  six  chapters. 


44  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


LESSON  XII 

David's  Empire 

When  we  think  that  the  people  of  Israel  under  the  judges  were 
scattered  tribes  of  settlers,  it  is  hard  to  realize  that  in  little  more 
than  two  generations  they  had  become  a  great  and  in  many  respects 
a  civilized  empire.  This  rapid  rise  was  part  of  God's  plan  in  the 
training  of  his  people  for  their  work.  It  was  only  one  of  the  many 
wonderful  providences  through  which  they  were  led,  down  to  the 
time  when  Christ,  the  Son  of  David,  arose  to  bless  the  world. 

Having  learned  something  about  Samuel,  *^aul,  and  David,  ht 
us  now  learn 

XII.     SEVEN  STEPS  IN  THE  BUILDING  OF  DAVID'S 
EMPIRE 

I.  Israel  united  under  Saul.  The  Philistines  were  still  powerful, 
and  Saul  was  more  of  a  fighting  chief  than  a  king;  but  under  him 
the  tribes  learned  to  work  together. 

XL  David  king  of  Judah,  which  had  been  for  many  years  almost 
a  separate  nation  from  Ephraim  and  the  northern  tribes. 

III.  David  king  of  all  Israel,  succeeded  Saul's  son  Ish-bo'sheth 
or  Esh'ba-al.  David  now  conquered  Jerusalem  or  Jebus  from  the 
Jebusites,  and  made 

IV.  Jerusalem  Israel's  capital  and  sanctuary.  It  was  and 
always  has  been  a  strong  city  for  war ;  it  was  convenient  as  a  gov- 
ernment center;  and  when  David,  soon  after,  brought  the  ark  there, 
it  also  became  the  center  of  Israel's  religion. 

V.  Neighboring  foes  subdued.  Moab,  Ammon,  Philistia,  the 
Canaanites,  the  Edomites, — all  the  surrounding  nations,  once  op- 
pressors of  Israel,  now  paid  tribute  to  Jerusalem. 

VI.  The  empire  organized.  David  organized  the  army,  the  civil 
government,  and  the  religion  of  Israel,  thus  making  the  empire  strong 
within. 

VII.  The  empire  complete,  embracing  all  the  "lands  of  the  west," 
from  the  river  of  Egypt  to  the  river  Euphrates,  as  promised  to 
Abram.     Gen.   15:  18. 


OLD  TESTAMENT   HISTORY,   CREATION    TO  DAVID  45 


This  was  a  great  empire;  but  it  rested  on  the  foundation  of  the 
unity  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.  So  long  as  they,  Judah  and  Ephraim 
and  the  rest,  chose  to  live  together,  it  would  stand.  Even  under 
David  it  trembled  more  than  once.  Under  David's  son  Solomon  it 
flourished  outwardly,  but  grew  weaker  within. 

Map  Key. — The  river  of  Egypt  is  shown  on  Map  5  by  a  dotted  line  in  the 
desert  between  Egypt  and  Canaan.     It  is  a  wady  or  dry  valley. 

1  What  great    change    came    over    Israel    in    little    more    than    two 
generations  ?  ' 

2  What  was  the  great  point  gained  by   Saul's  reign? 

3  What  was  Judah  like  as  compared  with  the  northern  tribes  ? 

4  How  did  David  provide  a  capital  for  the  kingdom  of  all  Israel? 

5  What  three  things  made  Jerusalem  an  important  city  ? 

6  What  change  came  over  the  neighboring  nations? 

7  What  three  things  did  David  organize? 

8  How  far  did  his  empire  finally  stretch? 

9  What  was  its  boundary  on  the  east?  on  the  west? 

10  On  what  foundation  did  David's  empire  rest? 

11  What  were  the  seven  steps  in  the  building  of  David's  empire? 


LESSON  XIII 

Review 

Study  the  lessons  again,  and  test  your  memory  with  the  aid  of 
this  review  drill-chart : — 

I.  Four  early  events,  C  F.,  D.,  D. 

XL  Seven  events  in  the  life  of  Abraham,  M.  U.,  W.  C,  S.  L.,  R.  P., 
S.  I.,  O.  G.,  F.  W.  I. 

III.  Twelve  sons  of  Jacob,  R.  S.  L.  J.,  D.  N.  G.  A.,  I.  Z.  J.  B. 

IV.  Five  steps  in  the  making  of  Israel,  R.  J.,  S.  E.,  M.,  B.,  D. 

V.  Eight  scenes  in  the  life  of  Moses,  B.,  S.,  E.,  C.,  S.,  L.,  L.,  P. 

VI.  Five  marches  in  the  wilderness,  R.  to  R.  S.,  R.  S.  to  M.  S., 
M.  S.  to  K.  B.,  K.  B.  to  K.  B.,  K.  B.  to  M. 

VII.  Seven  steps  in  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  E.  J.  C,  E.  G.,  C.  J. 
A.,  S.  C.,  N.  C,  D.  L.,  D.  A. 

VIII.  Twelve  tribal  divisions:  Three  E.  J.— R.,  G.,  V2  M. ;  two 
S.— J.  (S.),  B.;  two  C.— E.,  ^  M.,  (D.)  ;  five  N.— I.,  A.,  Z.,  N.,  D. 


46^ 


INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


IX.  Six  oppressions  under  the  judges,  Me.  (O.),  Mo.  (E.),  C 
(D.  and  B.),  Mi.  (G.),  A.  (J.),  Ph.  (S.,  E.,  S.,  S.). 

X.  Six  scenes  in  the  life  of  Samuel,  H.  J.  V.,  A.  D.  E.,  J.  I.,  M.  S. 
K.,  R.  S.  D.,  A.  D. 

XL  Twelve  chapters  in  the  life  of  David : — 

Sh.,  Com.,  K.  J.,  Pow., 

SI.,  Can.,  K.  Q.,  Pen., 

Si.,  Cap.,  K.  A.  I.,  Poe. 

XII.  Seven  stages  in  the  building  of  David's  empire,  I.  U.  S., 
D.  K.  J.,  D.  K.  A.  I.,  J.  I.  C.  S.,  N.  F.  S.,  E.  O.,  E.  E. 

We  may  remember  the  links  in  the  history  better  by  arranging 
them  in  three  groups  of  five  each,  so  that  the  last  name  in  the  first 
group  will  be  the  first  name  in  the  next  group,  and  so  on,  thus : — 


I 

II 

III 

CREATION 

ABRAHAM 

SAMUEL 

Fall 

Joseph 

Saul 

Deluge 

Moses 

David 

Dispersion 

Joshua 

Solomon 

ABRAHAM 

SAMUEL 

REHOBOAM 

and 
JEROBOAM 

We  are  to  learn 

about  Rehoboam  and  Je 

;roboam  in  the  lessons  of 

le  next  quarter. 

PART  III 

OLD  TESTAMENT  HISTORY:    FROM  SOLOMON 
TO  HEZEKIAH 


Mh  ®?0tam^ttt  HftBtcrg,  i^oUitmin  to  i^tztkxulf 


LESSON  I 

Solomon's  Glory 

The  great  empire  of  King  David  descended  to  Solomon,  his  young 
and  gifted  son.  Another  son,  Adonijah,  tried  to  get  it,  but  failed. 
Like  his  father,  Solomon  reigned  for  forty  years.  After  establishing 
himself  firmly  on  the  throne,  Solomon  began  the  great  works  which 
made  his  name  so  famous  in  after  days.    Learn 

I.     SIX  WORKS  OF  SOLOMON 

L  Walls.  He  completed  the  wall  of  Jerusalem,  which  David  his 
father  had  begun,  and  fortified  it  with  towers.  He  also  brought 
water  inside  the  walls  by  means  of  great  reservoirs  and  aqueducts. 

II.  Strongholds.  He  strengthened  his  country  against  attack  by 
building  and  fortifying  strong  cities  at  all  the  places  where  an  enemy 
might  come  in. 

III.  Palaces.  In  Jerusalem,  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  Ophel,  he 
built  a  magnificent  palace,  called  "the  house  of  the  forest  of  Leb- 
anon," from  the  forty-five  pillars  of  Lebanon  cedar  which  it  con- 
tained.   He  also  had  other  palaces  in  various  parts  of  his  kingdom. 

IV.  The  Temple.  This  was  by  far  the  most  important  work  of 
Solomon's  reign.  The  temple  stood  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Moriah, 
above  the  palace.  It  faced  eastward,  looking  toward  the  Mount  of 
Olives.  In  building  these  great  and  beautiful  buildings,  Solomon 
had  the  help  of  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  whose  people  were  skilled  in 
all  such  work. 

V.  Ships.  By  building  a  fleet  of  ships  at  Ezion-geber.  on  the  Red 
Sea,  and  sending  them  away  to  Arabia  and  India,  Solomon  gathered 

49 


50 


INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


many  rare  and  wonderful  treasures  for  his  palaces.  He  also  estab- 
lished a  commerce  which  brought  in  money  to  help  pay  for  his  great 
works. 

VI.  Sayings.  Solomon  was  wise  as  well  as  rich  and  powerful. 
Some  of  his  wise  sayings  are  given  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  and 
other  parts  of  the  Bible. 

1  Who  was  David's  successor? 

2  What  can  you  say  of  his  reign? 

3  What  did  he  do  for  Jerusalem  ? 

4  How  did  he  strengthen  the  country? 

5  Where  was  Solomon's  palace  located? 

6  Describe  it. 

7  What  was  Solomon's  most  important  work? 

8  Where  did  the  temple  stand? 

9  Who  helped  in  building  it? 

10  How  did  Solomon  develop  commerce? 

11  Where  can  his  wise  sayings  be  found? 

12  What  were  the  six  works  of  Solomon? 


LESSON  II 
David's  Line 

David  was  not  only  a  great  king  himself,  but  the  founder  of  a 
line  of  kings  that  lasted  longer,  per- 
haps, than  any  other  such  line  (or 
dynasty)  anywhere  in  history,  and  that 
ended  with  Jesus  Christ,  the  eternal 
King  of  kings.  This  line  of  kings  is 
called  in  the  Bible  David's  "house"  or 
"seed" ;  and  God  promised  that  it  should 
be  established  forever. 

It  started  off  with  Solomon.  We 
learned  of  his  glory  last  week ;  but  there 
was  a  very  dark  side  to  the  picture. 
Solomon  was  a  despot,  oppressing  his 
people,  working  and  taxing  them  with 
great  severity.  He  was  also  an  idolater, 
bringing  in  false  gods  with  his  many 
foreign  wives.    When  he  died  his  empire      "*"  '°Va"°l""°S7u»"h'"''' 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    SOLOMON    TO    HEZEKIAH  51 

fell  apart.  The  northern  tribes  formed  the  kingdom  of  Israel ;  and 
Solomon's  son  Rehoboam  held  only  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  with 
part  of  Benjamin.  This,  the  southern  kingdom,  with  Jerusalem  as 
its  capital,  was  now  the  land  of  David's  line. 

For  the  times  of  the  kingdom,  the  only  way  by  which  we  can 
keep  track  of  the  historical  events,  the  work  of  the  prophets,  etc., 
is  by  committing  to  memory  the  list  of  the  kings.  Let  us  there- 
fore learn. 


II.    SIX  EARLY  KINGS  OF  JUDAH 

I.  Rehoboam,    son    of    Solomon,    who    lost   the    ten    tribes.      His 
reign  began  in  the  year  931  b.  c. 

II.  Abijam,    who    reigned    only    three    years ;    called    in    Chron- 
icles Abijah. 

III.  Asa,    the   good   king   with    a   long   reign,    forty-one   years. 

IV.  Jehoshaphat,   who   also   reigned   well   for  twenty-five  years, 
and  made  peace  with  Omri  and  Ahab,  kings  of  Israel. 

V.  Jehoram,     who    married    Athaliah,    daughter    of    Ahab    and 
Jezebel. 

VI.  Ahaziah,  who  reigned  but  one  year,  and  was  slain  by  Jehu, 
king  of  Israel.  842  b.  c. 

Map  Key.— D,  Damascus;  T,  Tyre;  S,  Samaria,  the  capital  of  Israel;  J,  Jeru- 
salem, the  capital  of  Judah. 

1  What  do  you  mean  by  David's  line? 

2  What  was  remarkable  about  this   line? 

3  Who  was  the  first  king  of  the  line,  after  David  ? 

4  What  were  the  evils  of  his  reign  ? 

5  What  took  place  after  his  death,  as  the  result  of  these  evils? 

6  What  part  of  Canaan  now  became  the  land  of  David's  line? 

7  By  what  names  is  it  called  ? 

8  What  city  was  its  capital  ? 

9  In  what  year  before   Christ  did   Rehoboam  begin  to  reign? 

10  In  what  year  was  Ahaziah  slain? 

11  Name  the  six  early  kings  of  Judah,  from  Rehoboam  to  Ahaziah. 

12  Why  is  it  important  to  reitiember  these  names? 


52  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


LESSON  III 

The  Kingdom  of  Israel 

When  Solomon  died,  the  northern  tribes  made  Jeroboam  their 
leader,  and  asked  Rehoboam  to  lighten  their  burdens.  He  refused, 
and  they  rebelled,  forming  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  This  was  not 
really  a  new  kingdom,  as  after  the  death  of  Saul  David  reigned 
over  the  tribe  of  Judah  only  for  seven  years,  the  other  tribes  not 
accepting  him.  But  the  northern  tribes  now  started  out  alone, 
and  never  joined  with   Judah  again. 

The  kings  of  Israel  do  not  come  in  a  regular  line;  there  are 
several  lines,  none  very  long.  The  kingdom  lasted  from  931  b.  c.^ 
the  accession  of  Jeroboam,  to  722  b.  c,  the  fall  of  Samaria.  Nine- 
teen kings  reigned  during  these  209  years ;  but  we  will  learn  only 

III.     FIVE  GREAT  KINGS  OF  ISRAEL 

L  Jeroboam  the  First,  founder  of  the  kingdom.  He  was 
trained  by  Solomon,  and  gave  the  kingdom  a  good  start  in  worldly 
matters,  but  a  very  bad  start  in  religion.  He  "made  Israel  to 
sin,"  by  setting  up  golden  calves  at  Bethel  and  Dan  for  the  people 
to  worship. 

II.  Omri,  builder  of  the  capital  city,  Samaria.  He  made  peace 
with  Judah  and  brought  in  the  wicked  worship  of  Baal.  His  son 
and  two  of  his  grandsons  were  kings  of  Israel;  then  the  line 
changed. 

III.  Ahab,  son  of  Omri  and  husband  of  Jezebel ;  a  wicked  king. 
He  fought  with   Ben-hadad,  king  of   Syria. 

IV.  Jehu,  the  bloody  reformer,  who  killed  all  of  Ahab's  line, 
and  rooted  out  the  worship  of  Baal.  His  reign  began  in  842  b.  c. 
We  shall  learn  more  of  him  in  Lesson  VI. 

V.  Jeroboam  the  Second,  the  great-grandson  of  Jehu;  a  pow- 
erful conqueror,  who  reigned  as  long  and  almost  as  gloriously  as 
Solomon  himself.  After  him  came  six  weak  kings,  and  then  the 
fall  of  Samaria,  when  the-  people  were  carried  captive  into  Assyria. 

I  What  did  the  northern  tribes  of  Israel  demand  from  Solomon's 
son  Rehoboam  ? 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    SOLOMON    TO    HEZEKIAH  53 

2  What  was  formed  as  a  result  of  this? 

3  Why  was  this  not  the  beginning  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  ? 

4  How  long  did  the  kingdom  last  ? 

5  Between  what  dates  ? 

6  How    did   the   succession    of   kings    differ   from    the   succession   in 
the  kingdom  of  Judah  ? 

7  Tell  about  the  founder  of  the  kingdom. 

8  Whal  did  Omri  do? 

9  Who  was  Ahab? 

10  What  was  the  work  of  Jehu? 

11  Describe  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  the  Second. 

12  Name  the  five  great  kings  of  Israel. 

LESSON  IV 

Elijah 

When  Omri,  and  after  him,  Ahab  and  Queen  Jezebel,  tried  to 
introduce  the  foul  worship  of  Baal  into  the  kingdom  of  Israel, 
God  raised  up  a  great  prophet  from  the  eastern  desert,  Elijah,  to 
stand  for  Jehovah,  the  true  God.  Let  us  now  refresh  our  mem- 
ory by  learning 

IV.     SEVEN    SCENES   IN   THE    LIFE    OF    ELIJAH 

I.  Predicting-  the  drought.  The  tall,  stern  prophet  stands 
before  King  Ahab,  utters  the  terrible  words,  and  disappears  for 
more  than  three  years.  He  hides  beside  the  Brook  Cherith,  where 
God  sends  the  ravens  to  feed  him,  and  afterwards  lives  with  the 
widow  at  Zarephath.  Ahab,  meanwhile,  is  searching  for  him  in 
vain.  At  length  the  prophet  appears  to  Obadiah,  Ahab's  prime 
minister,  meets  the  king  himself,  and  appoints  an  assembly  to  be 
held  on  Mount  Carmel. 

II.  Sacrificing  on  Mount  Carmel.  Elijah  stands  in  front  of 
the  altar  of  Jehovah  on  Mount  Carmel,  after  the  prophets  of  Baal 
have  tried  in  vain  to  call  down  fire  from  heaven  upon  their  sacri- 
fice.    At  his  prayer  the  fire  descends,  proving  that  Jehovah  is  the 

Itrue  God. 

"  III.  Praying  for  rain.  After  the,  false  prophets  have  been 
slain,  Elijah  goes  up  to  the  mountain  top  again  and  prays  until 
-his  servant  reports  a  small  cloud  coming. 


54  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

IV.  Running  before  Ahab's  chariot.  The  prophet  urges  the 
king  to  start  for  home,  and  runs  before  his  chariot  nearly  twenty- 
miles  to  the  gate  of  Jezreel,  He  lodges  outside  the  gate,  and 
learns  next  morning  that  the  angry  queen  will  kill  him  for  slaying 
her  prophets. 

V.  Hearing  God  at  Horeb.  Fleeing  from  Jezebel's  vengeance, 
Elijah  goes  to  Beer-sheba,  and  from  thence  through  the  southern 
desert  to  Mount  Horeb.  Here  God  appears  to  him  in  the  won- 
ders of  nature,  speaks  to  him  in  the  "still  small  voice,"  and  gives 
him  new  work  to  do,  including  the  finding  and  training  of  young 
Elisha  to  be  his  successor. 

VI.  At  Naboth's  Vineyard.  After  Ahab  and  Jezebel  had 
stolen  Naboth's  vineyard  and  then  murdered  Naboth,  Elijah  ap- 
peared to  Ahab  and  foretold  how  his  family  should  perish  in 
punishment  for  his  idolatry  and  other  sins. 

VII.  Going  up  to  heaven.  Elijah  went  with  his  servant  and 
successor,  Elisha,  over  the  Jordan,  and  was  taken  up  to  heaven 
in  a  whirlwind,  leaving  to  Elisha  his  prophetic  mantle. 

1  What  was  the  great  sin  of  Omri,  Ahab.  and  Jezebel? 

2  What  was  the  great  work  of  Elijah? 

3  From  what  region  did  he  come? 

4  Why  did  he  hide  himself  for  more  than  three  years? 

5  What  was  the  question  that  was  settled  on  Mount  Carmel  ? 

6  What  did  Elijah  do  to  make  Jezebel  so  angry? 

7  What  were  the   three   stages   in   Elijah's  journey  between   Carmel 
and  Horeb? 

8  What  did  God  do  for  him  at  Horeb? 

9  What  did  Elijah  foretell  to  Ahab? 

10  How  did  Elijah  go  up  to  heaven? 

11  Repeat  the  seven  scenes  in  the  life  of  Elijah. 


LESSON  V 

Elisha 

Elijah's  mantle  fell  upon  the  shoulders  of  Elisha,  whom  God 
had  told  Elijah  to  call.  Elisha  appears  as  a  quiet  man  of  the  city, 
a  leader  of  the  sons  of  the  prophets,  a  counselor  of  the  king,  and 
a  worker  of  miracles.     He  was  a  different  man  from  Elijah,  and 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    SOLOMON    TO    HEZEKIAH  55 

had  a  different  work  to  do.  Elijah  had  faced  the  king  and  won 
back  the  people  to  the  support  of  the  old  religion  of  Jehovah; 
Elisha's  work  was  to  build  up  this  religion  by  faithful  oversight 
and  training.  Both  Elijah  and  Elisha  were  prophets  of  the  king- 
dom of  Israel;  their  work  did  not  include  the  kingdom  of  Judah. 
Elisha's   life   is   illustrated   for   us   in   these 


V.     SEVEN    MIRACLES    OF    ELISHA 

I.  Parted  the  waters  of  the  Jordan  on  his  return  from  seeing 
Elijah   carried   up   to  heaven. 

II.  Healed  the  fountain  at  Jericho,  whose  waters  had  been 
bitter. 

III.  Saved  three  kings,  Jehoram  of  Israel,  Jehoshaphat  of 
Judah,  and  the  king  of  Edom,  who  were  making  an  expedition 
against  Moab.  Their  army  was  dying  of  thirst  on  the  desert 
shore  of  the  Dead  Sea.  and  Elisha  showed  them  how  God  would 
send   them  water. 

IV.  Increased  the  oil  of  the  poor  widow,  and  so  enabled  her  to 
save  her  sons   from  being  sold   for  debt. 

V.  Raised  the  boy  to  life,   the   Shunammite  woman's   son.       ■ 

VI.  Healed  Naaman,  the  great  Syrian  general,  who  came  to 
the  king  of   Israel  to   be  healed   of   his   leprosy. 

VII.  Captured  the  Syrians,  who  came  to  take  him  at  Dothan. 
He  smote  them  with  blindness  by  God's  power,  marched  them  into 
Samaria,  and  induced  the  king  to  treat  them  kindly  and  let  them 
go. 

1  Describe  Elijah's  successor,  Elisha. 

2  What  was  his  work  for  the  religion  of  Jehovah  ? 

3  To  which  kingdom  did  these  two  prophets  belong? 

4  What  was  Elisha's  first  miracle  ? 

5  What  did  he  do  for  the  city  of  Jericho? 

6  How  did  he  save  the  three  kings  and  their  army? 

7  How  did  he  help  the  poor  widow  ? 

8  What  did  he  do   for  the   Shunammite  woman? 

9  How  did  he  show  God's  power  to  Naaman? 

10  How  did  he  win  a  victory  at  Dothan? 

11  Which  were  the  seven  miracles  of  Elisha? 


56  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

LESSON  VI 

Jehu's  Revolution 

At  Horeb  Elijah  was  commanded,  among  other  things,  to  find  a 
man  named  Jehu  and  make  him  king  of  Israel  in  place  of  the 
wicked  Ahab.  The  time  to  do  this,  however,  did  not  come  at 
once.  Years  after,  when  Elijah  faced  Ahab  in  Naboth's  vineyard, 
it  had  not  been  done.  The  man  of  whom  God  had  spoken  was  in 
fact  standing  by  the  king  while  the  prophet  was  speaking,  and 
heard  the  words  of  doom.  Elijah  passed  on  to  his  reward,  leav- 
ing the  command  to  be  fulfilled  by  Elisha. 

Ahab's  son  Ahaziah  reigned  but  two  years  and  then  died  of  an 
accident,  leaving  the  kingdom  to  his  brother  Jehoram,  (Notice 
that  there  were  also  an  Ahaziah  and  a  Jehoram  on  the  throne  of 
Judah  about  this  time.  The  two  royal  families  were  very  closely 
allied.)  Jehoram  did  better  than  Ahab;  but  as  long  as  old  Queen 
Jezebel  lived,  Baal  would  be  worshiped  in  Samaria  and  in  Jezreel. 

The  time  for  action  came  at  last.  Jehoram  of  Israel  had  been 
king  twelve  years.  Ahaziah  of  Judah,  the  son  of  Jehoram's  sister 
Athaliah,  had  been  king  for  a  year  or  more.  Jehoram  had  been 
fighting  Syria  at  Ramoth-gilead,  across  the  Jordan,  and  being 
wounded  had  gone  home  to  Jezreel,  where  his  royal  nephew  had 
come  to  visit  him.  The  army  of  Israel  was  at  Ramoth-gilead; 
and  Jehu,  the  popular  general,  was  with  them.  Elisha  saw  that 
the  hour  had  come.  How  he  made  the  move  that  started  the  great 
revolution  is  told  in  II  Kings,  ch.  9.  Read  that,  and  also  ch.  10, 
which   completes   the  bloody  story. 

Jehu's  revolution  caused  a  break  in  the  history  of  the  kings  of 
Judah,  and  nearly  cut  off  the  line;  see  ch.  11.  In  Israel  it  cut 
off  Omri's  line,  and  brought  in  a  new  line  that  lasted  for  five 
generations.  It  cleansed  Israel  of  Baal-worship,  but  at  the  cost 
of  so  many  lives  that  the  kingdom  was  weakened,  and  did  not 
regain  strength  until  the  days  of  Jeroboam  the  Second,  Jehu's 
great-grandson. 

Learn 

VI.     SEVEN  STEPS   IN   THE   RISE   OF  JEHU 

I.  Revealed  by  name  to  Elijah  at  Horeb. 
11.  Hears  Ahab's  doom  in  Naboth's  vineyard. 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    SOLOMON    TO    HEZEKIAH  S7 

III.  Anointed    king    by    Elisha's    messenger    at    Ramoth-gilead. 

IV.  Drives    to    Jezreel,    surprising    and    slaying    Jehoram    and 
Ahaziali. 

V.  Meets    Jezebel    at   the    palace    in    Jezreel,    and    orders    her 
death. 

VI.  Cuts  off  Ahab's  line,  by  causing  the  death  of  all  his  sons 
at   Samaria. 

VII.  Uproots    Baal-worship,    by   killing    all    the    worshipers    of 
Baal   at  a  great   feast  in   Samaria. 


1  Why  did  not  Elijah  find  and  anoint  Jehu  at  once? 

2  How  was  Jehu  connected  with  the  scene  in  Naboth's  vineyard? 

3  What  effect  may  this  have  had  upon  him  ? 

4  What  two  kings  succeeded  Ahab  in   Israel  ? 

5  Who  was  the  principal  supporter  of  Baal-worship  at  this  time? 

6  When   did    Elisha    start   the   revolution?      (Give   the   date   accord- 
ing to  the  reign  of  the  king.) 

7  Explain  why  this  was  a  favorable  time. 

8  How  did  Elisha  make  Jehu  king? 

9  How  was  this  action  ratified? 

10  How  did  Jehu  secure  and  hold  his  place  as  king? 

11  Describe  the  death  of  Jezebel. 

12  Recite  the  seven  steps  in  the  rise  of  Jehu. 

13  Why  is  the  revolution  of  Jehu  an  important  event? 


LESSON  VII 

From  Joash   to   Hezekiah 

While  Omri  and  Ahab  vc^ere  reigning  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel, 
and  Elijah  was  defending  the  true  religion  there,  Asa  and  Jehosha- 
phat  were  reigning  in  Judah.  After  Jehoshaphat  came  two  kings, 
Jehoram  and  Ahaziah,  the  last  reigning  but  a  year.  Jehoram's  wife 
was  Athaliah,  the  daughter  of  Jezebel,  and  very  like  her  wicked 
mother.  When  her  son  Ahaziah  was  killed  by  Jehu,  she  seized  the 
throne  and  reigned  unlawfully  for  six  years.  She  brought  Baal- 
worship   into  Jerusalem.      But  the   revolution   under  Jehoiada   the 


58  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

priest,  in  which  AthaHah  was  slain  and  Ahaziah's  Httle  boy  Joash 
was  made  king,  was  the  beginning  of  a  better  time. 

We  may  now  learn 

VII.     SIX    MIDDLE    KINGS    OF    JUDAH 

I.  Joash,   the  boy  king,  who   repaired  the  temple. 

II.  Amaziah,  who  challenged  Jehoash  of  Israel,  and  was  de- 
feated. 

III.  Uzziah,  or  Azariah,  who  reigned  fifty-two  years.  He  was 
a  good  king.  In  his  day  the  old  prosperity  began  to  return,  and 
with  it  luxury  and  injustice.  U/.ziah  renewed  Solomon's  com- 
merce from  the  port  of  Ezion-geber.  A  great  earthquake,  which 
happened   during  his    reign,   was   long   remembered.     Amos    i :  i. 

IV.  Jotham  became  acting  king  while  his  father  Uzziah  was  a 
leper. 

V.  Ahaz  forsook  Jehovah,  and  built  an  altar  to  Baal  in  the 
temple  court.  In  his  reign  and  that  of  his  father  Jotham,  the 
kings  of  Syria  and  Israel  made  war  on  Judah  because  it  would 
not  join  their  alliance  against  the  new  and  powerful  king  of 
Assyria,   Tiglath-pileser. 

VI.  Hezekiah,  the  good  king,  of  whom  we  shall  learn  more 
later. 

1  What  kings  of  Judah  were  contemporary  with  Omri  and  Ahab  of 
Israel  ? 

2  How  did  AthaHah  get  a  chance  to  seize  the  throne  of  Judah? 

3  What  brought  her  reign  to  a  close? 

4  What  work  did  Joash  do  ? 

5  What  befell  Amaziah? 

6  Who  reigned  after  him,  and  for  how  long? 

7  Give  some  incidents  of  his  reign. 

8  Why  did  Jotham  take  the  duties  of  king? 

9  What  evil  did  Ahaz  do  ? 

ID  Why  did  Israel  and  Syria  make  war  on  him? 

11  Who  was  the  successor  of  Ahaz? 

12  Repeat  the  six  middle  kings  of  Judah. 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    SOLOMON    TO    HEZEKIAH 


59 


LESSON  VIII 

The  Age  of  Uzziah 


During  the  long  reign 


THE   NATIONS   ROUND 
JUDAH 


of  Uzziah  in  Jiidah  prosperity  returned, 
and  with  it  hixury  and  wickedness. 
The  nobles  or  rich  heads  of  fam- 
ilies lived  in  luxury  and  oppressed 
the  poor.  They  worshiped  Jehovah,  but 
did  not  live  by  his  laws.  Still,  it  was  a 
good  time,  as  times  went  in  Judah.  The 
great  empire  of  Assyria,  far  beyond  the 
Euphrates,  was  steadily  growing  in 
power  and  greediness,  but  it  was  not  at- 
tacking the  western  kingdoms  just  now. 
In  order  to  see  how  Judah  was  situ- 
ated politically  at  this  time,  let  us  study 
this  map,  remembering  that  the  boun- 
daries of  these  countries  kept  changing, 
as  one  king  conquered  all  or  part  of  an- 
other king's  country.  The  map  represents 
the  average  shape  of  each  country.  Learn 


VIII.     EIGHT  NATIONS   ROUND  JUDAH 

I.  Israel,  Judah's  blood  relation  on  the  north.  During  the  reigns 
of  Amaziah  and  Uzziah,  Jeroboam  the  Second  made  it  practically 
master  of  all  the  countries  shown. 

II.  PhcBnicia,  which  really  meant  Tyre,  Sidon,  and  one  or  two 
other  coast  cities,  and  the  land  controlled  by  them.  The  Phoenicians 
were  sailors,  traders,  and  workmen,  not  fighters. 

III.  Syria,  or  Damascus,  and  the  country  it  controlled.  Syria  and 
Israel  were  the  two  strong  countries  in  this  little  family  of  nations. 

IV.  Moab,  a  grazing  country,  not  given  to  fighting. 

V.  Edom,  a  more  warlike  people,  sometimes  subject  to  Judah, 
and  again  independent. 

VI.  Philistia.  The  Philistines  were  not  the  power  that  they  had 
been  in  Saul's  day;  but  they  still  had  strong  cities. 


60  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 


VII.  Egypt,  the  great  nation  to  the  southwest. 

VIII.  Assyria,  the  greater  nation  to  the  east,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tigris.     Nineveh  was  its  capital. 

Map  Key. — The  map  is  numbered  to  correspond  with  this  list.  Egypt  and 
Assyria  are  not  shown;  see  some  larger  map.  D,  Damascus;  T,  Tyre;  Si, 
Sidon;  Sa,  Samaria;  J,  Jerusalem;  G,  Gaza;  E,  Ezion-geber,  or  Elath,  on  the 
Red  Sea,  below  the  map. 

1  What  evil  began  to  grow  in  Uzziah's  day  ? 

2  Why  did  the  boundaries  of  the  nations  round  Judah  keep  changing  ? 

3  Who  was  king  of  Israel  in  Uzziah's  day? 

4  Describe  the  country  of  Phoenicia. 

5  What  city  was  the  capital  and  metropolis  of  Syria? 

6  Where  and  what  was  the  land  of  Moab? 

7  Where  was  Edom,  and  how  did  it  change? 

8  How  did  Philistia  compare  with  what  it  had  been  in  Saul's  day? 

9  Which  were  the  two  strong  countries  among  these? 

10  What  two  greater  nations  lay  on  either  side? 

11  In  which  direction  lay  Egypt?  Assyria? 


LESSON  IX 

The  Assyrian  Power 

On  the  banks  of  the  Tigris,  in  very  ancient  times,  lay  a  city  called 
Asshur.  Its  niins  are  now  at  Kalah  Shergat.  This  city  conquered 
and  gave  name  to  a  large  country  which  stretched  from  the  river  to 
the  distant  mountain  ranges  of  Armenia  and  Persia.  This  country, 
called  Assyria,  was  destined  to  play  a  large  part  in  the  history  of 
the  Hebrew  people. 

About  1300  B.  c,  while  the  Israelites  were  in  the  wilderness, 
Assyria  began  to  make  itself  a  world-empire.  Under  Shalmaneser 
the  First  and  other  great  kings  it  conquered  Babylonia,  to  the  south, 
and  made  Nineveli  its  capital  city.  The  empire  reached  its  height 
under  Tiglath-pileser  the  First,  about  iioo  b.  c,  in  the  time  of  the 
judges.  After  that,  it  declined  for  several  centuries,  so  that  David 
and  Solomon  could  build  up  their  empire  without  interference.  But 
in  the  reign  of  King  Asa  of  Judah,  Assyria  began  to  wake  up  and 
seek  world-empire  again;  and  from  that  time  on  there  was  trouble. 

The  great  object  of  Assyria  was  to  conquer  Egypt.  To  do  this, 
she  had  first  to  subjugate  the  small  countries  that  lay  between.    This 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    SOLOMON    TO    HEZEKIAH  6l 

led  to  a  long  series  of  expeditions  and  battles,  in  the  course  of 
which  Israel  and  Judah  suffered  severel}-,  until  Israel  was  finally- 
destroyed. 

It  is  worth  our  while,  in  spite  of  the  hard  names,  to  learn 

IX.     FIVE  ASSYRIATSr  CONQUERORS 

I.  Shal-ma-ne'ser  the  Second,  860  to  825  b.  c.  In  854  he  fought 
the  great  battle  of  Karkar  against  Ahab,  Ben-hadad,  and  other  allied 
kings.  He  afterwards  conquered  Hazael,  king  of  Syria,  and  took 
tribute  from  Jehu,  king  of  Israel. 

II.  Tig-lath-pi-le'ser  the  Second,  745  to  727  b.  c.  He  is  some- 
times called  Pul.  King  Menahem  of  Israel  paid  him  tribute  in  the 
days  of  Uzziah  of  Judah.  Some  years  later  King  Ahaz  of  Judah 
sought  his  help  against  Israel  and  Syria,  although  Isaiah  the 
prophet  warned  him  not  to  do  so.  Tiglath-pileser  responded  to 
Ahaz,  and  on  this  expedition  took  the  cities  of  Galilee  and  carried 
many  of  the  Israelites  away. 

III.  Shal-ma-ne'ser  the  Fourth,  727  to  ^22  b.  c.  In  725  he  made 
an  expedition  to  the  west.  Hoshea,  the  last  king  of  Israel,  paid  him 
tribute  at  first,  but  soon  broke  off,  relying  on  the  help  of  Egypt. 
Shalmaneser  promptly  attacked  and  besieged  Samaria,  the  capital 
of  Israel,  but  seems  to  have  died  before  his  army  had  succeeded  in 
conquering  it. 

IV.  Sar'gon,  an  Assyrian  general,  who  succeeded  Shalmaneser, 
722-705  B.  c.  He  finished  the  siege  of  Samaria,  carried  the  rest  of 
Israel  away  captive,  and  peopled  the  country  with  foreigners.  In 
714  he  received  tribute  from  Hezekiah,  king  of  Judah. 

V.  Sen-nach'e-rib,  son  of  Sargon,  705-680  b.  c.  He  came  against 
Jerusalem,  701,  but  was  defeated  by  God's  power  and  forced  to  re- 
turn home. 

1  How  did  the  country  of  Assyria  get  its  name? 

2  Between  what  two  boundaries  did  it  lie? 

3  When  did  it  first  become  a  great  power? 

4  When  did  the  early  Assyrian  empire  reach  its  height  ? 

5  What  good  came  to  Israel  through  its  decline? 

6  In  the  reign   of   what   king  of  Judah   did   Assyria   begin   to   grow 
great  again  ? 

7  Why  was  Assyria  so  anxious  to  subjugate  Israel  and  Judah? 


62  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

8  What  kings  we  know  fought  against  Shalmaneser  I.  ? 

9  What  was  the  result  of  the  appeal  of  Ahaz  to  Tiglath-pileser  II.? 

10  Who  besieged  Samaria? 

11  Who  took  it? 

12  In  what  year  did  Sennacherib  come  against  Jerusalem? 

13  Repeat  the  names  of  the  five  Assyrian  conquerors. 


LESSON  X 

The  Early  Prophets 

Elijah  and  Elisha  are  described  as  men  of  action,  prophets  who 
traveled,  organized  bands  of  followers,  advised  with  kings,  and 
wrought  miracles.  The}^  wrote  none  of  their  addresses ;  and  their 
memory  is  preserved  only  in  stories  that  were  handed  down  until 
other  prophets  wrote  them  and  put  them  into  the  books  of  Kings, 
where  we  find  them.  But  in  the  days  of  Uzziah  and  Jeroboam  the 
Second  there  began  to  be  prophets  who  wrote  down  the  words  they 
spoke ;  and  these  written  prophecies  are  preserved  for  us  in  the  Bible. 
From  these  we  learn  much  about  the  history,  the  state  of  religion, 
and  the  life  of  the  people  in  the  prophet's  day. 

Learn 

X.     THREE  PROPHETS  OF  ISRAEL 

I.  Hosea.  He  prophesied,  that  is,  preached  the  word  of  Jehovah, 
in  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  He  denounced  Israel  for  its  unfaithful- 
ness to  Jehovah,  and  predicted  punishment  from  Assyria,  but  said 
that  God  would  not  forget  his  people.  In  his  book  the  forgiving  love 
of  God  is  described  with  wonderful  power. 

II.  Amos.  He  also  prophesied  in  Israel,  though  a  native  of  Judah. 
Amos  was  a  herdman,  a  man  of  the  common  people.  He  denounced 
the  wickedness  of  the  nobles  and  the  false  worship  of  the  golden 
calves  at  Bethel  and  Dan.     He  was  a  very  great  reformer. 

III.  Jonah.  He  was  also  a  prophet  of  Israel.  He  lived  in  the 
days  of  Jeroboam  IT.,  whose  successes  he  predicted.  II  Kings  14:  25. 
The  story  of  how  God  sent  him  on  a  mission  to  Nineveh  is  told  in 
the  book  of  Jonali. 

1  What  kind  of  prophets  were  Elijah  and  Elisha? 

2  How  has  the  story  of  their  lives  been  preserved? 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    SOLOMON    TO    HEZEKIAH  63 

3  In  the  reigns  of  what  kings  did  the  prophets  begin  to  write  their 
addresses  ? 

4  What  do  we  learn  from  such  written  prophecies  ? 

5  Where  did  Hosea  prophesy? 

6  What  was  his  message  ? 

7  What  is  especially  described  in  his  book? 

8  Who  and  whence  was  Amos  ? 

9  What  did  he  preach  against? 

10  What  did  Jonah  predict? 

11  What  is  described  in  the  book  of  Jonah? 

12  Who  were  the  three  prophets  of  Israel? 


LESSON  XI 
The  Early  Prophets,   concluded 

While  Hosea,  Amos,  and  Jonah  were  prophesying  in  the  kingdom 
of  Israel,  affairs  in  the  smaller  kingdom  of  Judah  were  equally  in 
need  of  earnest  words  from  fearless  teachers.  Uzziah  and  Jotham 
had  been  fairly  upright  kings,  faithful  to  Jehovah  ;  but  Ahaz,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  was  a  follower  of  Baal.  To  please  his  new  ally 
and  master,  the  great  Tiglath-pileser,  king  of  Assyria,  Ahaz  copied 
a  heathen  altar  that  he  saw  at  Damascus,  had  it  set  up  in  the  temple 
court  of  Jehovah,  and  sacrificed  upon  it  to  his  new  god. 

The  people,  too,  were  evil.  Many  of  them  had  become  wealthy 
and  proud  in  Uzziah's  day,  and  now  lived  in  luxurious  homes,  using 
their  power  to  oppress  the  poor.  Drunkenness  prevailed  among  the 
princes,  and  even  among  the  priests  of  God's  house.  It  was  a  god- 
less age.  Meanwhile,  the  great  Assyrian  power  was  steadily  ad- 
vancing; every  fresh  expedition  meant  slaughter  and  ruin  to  some 
part  of  the  land;  terrible  calamity  and  punishment  seemed  to  be 
overhanging, — yet  the  people  sinned.  There  were  priests,  and  there 
were  sacrifices  for  sin.  But  to  these  sinners  such  things  were  empty 
formalities ;  they  sacrificed,  and  sinned  on.  Learn  the  names  of  the 
teachers  whom  God  sent  them  at  this  time,  or  later : — 

XI,     FOUR  PROPHETS  OF  JUDAH 

I.  Isaiah,  greatest  of  all  the  prophets.  His  long  life  as  prophet 
began  in  the  reign  of  Uzziah ;  so  he  was  contemporary  with  the  three 
early  prophets  of  Israel.     Isaiah  lived  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  his  later 


64  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

years  was  the  friend  and  counselor  of  King  Hezekiah.  There  is 
some  reason  to  suppose  that  he  was  a  kinsman  of  the  royal  family. 

II.  Micah,  younger  than  Isaiah,  but  living  at  about  the  same  time. 
His  book,  although  much  shorter  than  Isaiah's,  contains  many  great 
thoughts  nobly  expressed.  He  predicted  that  the  Messiah  should  be 
born  in  Bethlehem.  Micah  came  from  Moresheth-gath,  that  is, 
Mareshah  near  Gath,  where  King  Asa  won  a  great  victory  over 
Zerah  the  Ethiopian.     II  Chron.   14:9,   10. 

HI.  Obadiah  wrote  a  short  prophecy  against  the  land  of  Edom; 
and  he  has  been  thought  by  some  scholars  to  have  written  it  in  the 
days  of  Ahaz.     Others  now  think  it  came  later. 

IV.  Joel,  also,  is  a  book  without  a  date,  and  has  generally,  until 
recent  years,  been  assigned  to  the  same  hard  times  as  those  in  which 
Isaiah  wrote.  The  prophet  predicts  terrible  calamities  to  come  upon 
the  people,  but  tells  of  the  "latter  days"  in  which  God  will  pour  Out 
his  Spirit  upon  all  flesh,  old  and  young. 

1  What  was  needed  in  Judah  in  the  days  of  Hosea,  Amos,  and  Jonah 
of  Israel ? 

2  What  example  did  the  king  set  ? 

3  What  were  some  of  the  sins  of  the  people  ? 

4  What  danger  was  continually  threatening  the  nation? 

5  How  did  the  people  pretend  to  be  religious? 

6  When  did  Isaiah's  work  begin  ? 

7  How  was  he  connected  with  Hezekiah  ? 

8  How  was  Micah's  work  related  to  Isaiah's? 

9  From  what  town  did  he  come? 

10  Against  what  did  Obadiah  prophesy? 

11  What  did  Joel  predict? 

12  Name  these  four  prophets  of  Judah. 


LESSON  XII 

Hezekiah 

Among  the  good  kings  of  Judah,  Hezekiah  stands  out  as  one  of 
the  best.  He  lived  in  a  very  dark  time.  It  was  in  his  sixth  year  that 
Samaria  fell,  and  Judah's  brethren  of  the  northern  kingdom, — that 
is,  the  bulk  of  those  that  were  left, — were  carried  captive  by  Sargon 
to  Assyria.     Hezekiah  suffered  many  afflictions,  but  God  gave  him 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    SOLOMON    TO    HEZEKIAH  65 

grace  to  come  safely  through  them  all.  Throughout  his  long  reign 
of  twenty-nine  years,  the  great  prophet  Isaiah  was  at  hand  to  encour- 
age and  counsel  him. 

We  close  this  quarter's  history  lessons  by  learning 

XII.     SEVEN  ASPECTS  OF  THE  LIFE   OF  HEZEKIAH 

I.  Youth.  He  was  evidently  a  bright  and  well-trained  boy.  He 
grew  up  in  the  wicked  court  of  Ahaz  his  father.  Perhaps  Isaiah  was 
his  teacher;  if  so,  that  explains  much  in  his  after  life. 

II.  Reformer.  The  moment  he  became  king,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
five,  as  we  are  told  in  Chronicles,  he  called  the  priests  and  Levites 
and  began  a  thorough  cleansing  of  the  temple ;  after  which  the  old 
sacrifices  were  instituted  again,  and  all  the  feasts  of  the  law  were 
duly  observed.  He  also  destroyed  the  old  brazen  serpent  which  the 
people  were   superstitiously  worshiping. 

HI.  Patriot.  Reversing  his  father's  policy,  he  threw  off  the 
Assyrian  yoke,  and  refused  for  some  years  to  pay  tribute  to  the 
great  king.  Meanwhile,  he  prepared  for  the  siege  that  he  knew  was 
coming. 

IV.  Defender.  In  his  fourteenth  year  the  trouble  began.  About 
thirteen  years  later,  in  701  b.  c.  Sennacherib,  the  son  of  Sargon, 
came  with  an  immense  army,  sat  down  before  the  walls  of  Lachish, 
a  Philistine  city,  and  sent  his  officers  up  to  Jerusalem  to  demand  its 
surrender.  But  the  king  and  his  people  trusted  in  God  and  held  out ; 
and  the  answer  came  in  a  great  and  sudden  destruction  of  Sen- 
nacherib's army,  causing  him  to  close  his  campaign  and  hurry  home 
to  Nineveh.     Jerusalem  was  safe. 

V.  Sufferer.  In  the  midst  of  his  other  troubles  Hezekiah  was 
taken  very  sick,  so  that  the  prophet  Isaiah  told  him  he  must  die. 
But  in  answer  to  his  earnest  prayer  his  life  was  lengthened  fifteen 
years. 

VI.  Scholar.  Hezekiah's  prayer  is  given  in  Isaiah,  ch.  38 :  9-20, 
and  it  shows  that  the  king  was  also  a  writer  of  power.  His  scribes 
edited  the  old  proverbs  of  Solomon.  Prov.  25 :  i.  He  was  a  patron 
of  literature. 

VII.  Statesman.  Merodach-baladan,  king  of  Babylonia,  sent  am- 
bassadors, ostensibly  to  congratulate  the  king  on  his  recovery,  but 


66  INTERMEDIATE    GRADE    LESSONS 

really  to  win  his  support  as  an  ally  against  Assyria.  Hezekiah  re- 
ceived these  men  kindly  and  showed  them  his  treasures.  He  thought 
he  was  doing  wisely ;  but  Isaiah  predicted  that  the  day  would  come 
when  a  king  of  Babylon  should  come  and  carry  all  these  treasures 
away. 

Hezekiah's  reign  marks  the  close  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  and 
also  the  close  of  the  first  period  of  prophecy  in  Judah.  For  about 
half  a  century  after  his  death,  during  the  reign  of  his  heathen  son 
Manasseh,  the  voice  of  God's  prophets  was  stilled.  Hezekiah  died 
698  B.  c.  seven  centuries  before  the  Christ  was  born. 

1  What  kind  of  a  king  was  Hezekiah? 

2  What  great  calamity  happened  in  his  time? 

3  Who  was  his  friend  and  adviser? 

4  Why  was  his  early  goodness  remarkable? 

5  How  did  he  show  his  patriotism  ? 

6  Tell  about   Hezekiah  as  the  defender  of  Jerusalem. 

7  Tell  of  his  sickness,  prayer,  and  recovery. 

8  What  part  of  the  Bible  did  he  help  to  make? 

9  What  mistake  did  he  make  as  a  statesman  ? 

10  Repeat  the  seven  aspects  of  the  life  of  Hezekiah. 

11  What  two  things  closed  with  his  reign? 

12  How  long  before  the  birth  of  Christ  did  Hezekiah  live? 


LESSON  XIII 

Review 

Use  this  review  drill-chart  in  testing  your  memory  as  to  the  head- 
ings of  the  lessons  : — 

I.  Six  works  of  Solomon,  W.,  St.,  P.,  T.,  Sh.,  Sa. 
II.  Six  early  kings  of  Judah,  R.,  Ab.,  A.,  Jehosh.,  Jehor.,  Ah. 

III.  Five  great  kings  of  Israel,  Jer.  I.,  O.,  A.,  Jeh.,  Jer.  II. 

IV.  Seven  scenes  in  the  life  of  Elijah,  P.  D.,  S.  M.  C,  P.  R., 
R.  A.  C,  H.  G.  H.,  A.  N.  V.,  G.  H. 

V.  Seven  miracles  of  Elisha,  P.  W.,  H.  F.,  S.  T.  K.,  I.  O.,  R. 
B.  L.,  H.  N.,  C.  S. 

VI.  Seven  steps  in  the  rise  of  Jehu,  R.  N.,  H.  A.  D.,  A.  K.,  D.  J., 
M.  J.,  C.  O.  A.  L.,  U.  B.  W. 


OLD    TESTAMENT    HISTORY,    SOLOMON    TO    HEZEKIAH 


67 


VII.  Six  middle  kings  of  Jitdah,  Joa.,  Ama.,  U.,  Jo.,  Ah.,  H. 
VIII.  Eight  nations  round  Judah,  Is.,  Phoe.,  S.,  M.,  Ed.,  Phi.,  Eg.,  A. 
IX.  Five  Assyrian  conquerors,  Sh.  II.,  T.-P,  II.,  Sh.IV.,  Sa.,  Se. 

X.  Three  prophets  of  Israel,  H.,  A.,  J. 
XI.  Four  prophets  of  Judah,  I.,  M.,  O.,  J. 

XII.  Seven  aspects  of  the  life  of  Hezekiah,  Y.,  R.,  P.,  D.,   Su., 
Sch.,  St. 

Review  the  three  memory  charts  given  in  the  review  lesson  of 
Part  I,  carrying  the  history  down  from  the  Creation  to  Rehoboam 
and  Jeroboam.  Then  learn  these  three,  covering  the  history  we 
have  just  studied: — 


IV 

REHOBOAM 

Ab.,  Asa 

Jehosh. 

Jeh.,  Ah. 
JOASH 


JEROBOAM 

Omri 

Ahab 

Jehu 
JEROBOAM  II. 


VI 

JOASH 
Amaziah 
Uzziah,  Jo. 
Ahaz 

HEZEKIAH 


1B844TE„  835 

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